In a cinematic world that was all too tightly embracing slasher gore for cheap scares, M. Night Shyamalan came out of virtually nowhere and reeducated us all in the art of fright. In his major motion picture directorial debut, Shyamalan crafts a nearly perfect mystery thriller that knows all the right strings to pull. The depth and range of emotions that he manages to pull from his actors and the quality product that he produces with this film leaves little doubt as to why he was being hailed as the next Alfred Hitchcock.
Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist trying to help a young boy with a peculiar dilemma. The boy, named Cole (brilliantly played by Haley Joel Osment), has a secret that he is too scared to reveal to anyone. Slowly, Willis earns the boy's trust and he begins to help Cole conquer his demons. Along the way, there are plenty of jolts and classical scares.
Instead of overusing blood and gore that teen horror flicks had come to rely on for chills, Shyamalan crafts a genuinely creepy tale that knows what scares us most- the unknown and the unseen. Some of the scariest moments in the film come while we’re anticipating something to happen. Shyamalan really has a handle on how to manipulate the subtle surroundings that cause our own minds to scare ourselves silly when we’re alone in the house.
And not enough can be said about Osment’s Oscar-nominated performance. It must be psychological, but seeing a child frozen with fear is itself terrifying. Had the film been about an adult suffering the same problems as Cole, it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. The inclusion of children as an element of terror works almost like clockwork.
If you can’t tell, I’m being very protective of the film’s big secrets because I don’t want to spoil it for anybody. Sure, it was made nearly 10 years ago, but this film is so ingenious that I’m not willing to risk spoiling it. It’s seriously that good.
The fantastic and shocking story makes the film worth watching. The symbolic and significant use of color, camera angles and imagery that you’re likely to miss the first time through make it worth repeat viewings. The chills and thrills may not work as well your second or third time through, but it’s unlikely that you’ll ever forget the first time you saw The Sixth Sense.
Unfortunately, Shyamalan had hit-or-miss success with his later films. His unparalleled success with his first major film really set the bar unfairly high and few have been able to give him a fair shake since, but no one can take away the greatness he accomplished with this film.
In a cinematic world that was all too tightly embracing slasher gore for cheap scares, M. Night Shyamalan came out of virtually nowhere and reeducated us all in the art of fright. In his major motion picture directorial debut, Shyamalan crafts a nearly perfect mystery thriller that knows all the right strings to pull. The depth and range of emotions that he manages to pull from his actors and the quality product that he produces with this film leaves little doubt as to why he was being hailed as the next Alfred Hitchcock.
No comments:
Post a Comment