The Sixth Sense (1999)★★★★★

This might be another nostalgia-driven rating. I think it’s also a “replay rating” of sorts…it’s really hard to put yourself into the same frame of mind as when you’re seeing something for the first time.

Like, is it still a spoiler to talk about the twist at the end of this movie? It was M. Night Shyamalan’s first! It was huge at the time! And so well done!

But it loses the heavy impact when you know what’s going on from the beginning. The viewing becomes a bit clinical rather than about enjoyment (for me, at least) - looking back for all the clues that were there the whole time.

And maybe it’s not really a five-star film. Maybe it’s a four-star film with that extra sheen of nostalgia right now. It’s certainly not perfect, and there are definitely weird elongated stretches of time and scenes which drag on for no apparent reason. Some of the schoolkid scenes are heartbreakingly difficult to watch.

But Haley Joel Osment is fantastic, the story is interesting, and this was a major win for M. Night Shyamalan overall, so I don’t think it’s out of line to give this 5 stars.