15 Fun Facts About The Sixth Sense That Will Twist Your Mind
I rarely manage to discover a twist in a horror movie during it. The main reason, if I may make an excuse, is that I usually don’t even try. I prefer to be surprised and avoid speculation, scenarios, or a list of suspects during the movie. Even if a thought comes to mind, I try to suppress it and not develop it too much. The problem is that there are movies that manage to surprise me, like many horror moviegoers, and a second later, I’m left thinking, “How the hell didn’t we think of this before?” while screaming at myself and throwing the popcorn leftovers all over. “The Sixth Sense,” the masterpiece from 25 years ago, fits this definition.
Maybe I was too young back then, in high school, when I saw “The Sixth Sense” for the first time during the movie Friday night with friends. Maybe director M. Night Shyamalan planted the hints for the great twist in a creative way that was easy to miss on first viewing. The bottom line is that the twist in “The Sixth Sense,” one of the most famous in cinema in recent decades, caught many of us off guard. Over the years, we’ve figured out if it’s more than just a movie with a twist. You can enjoy it after you know that Bruce Willis is… something.
In the following review, we’ll present 15 facts about “The Sixth Sense,” some surprising or even with a real twist. Let’s learn about the unique production process, the clues that allow us to see that – ***Well, screw it! It’s been 25 years, and you probably already know that Bruce Willis is a ghost the whole movie**** – the film’s impact on the careers of the director and the actors who played the role of their lives in it.
What Is The Sixth Sense Of Human?
Before we even address the film itself, a few lines about The Sixth Sense which gave it its name and explained the plot to some extent. The Sixth Sense, also known as Extrasensory perception (ESP), is a supernatural phenomenon with a relatively simple idea. According to this, some people seemingly receive information from the environment or influence it without using the five senses known to them (you know: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch). In other words, when sensations arise but cannot be explained by the five “normal” senses.
Under the broad umbrella of the sixth sense, one can find several supernatural abilities, hypothetical or not, some of which have starred in horror movies: telepathy, remote viewing, precognition (correct prediction of an unexpected future event), and probably also communication with dead people, who do not know that they are dead.
Although science itself opposes the sixth sense, which, of course, it is impossible to prove empirically. Still, a considerable part of the population believes in various types of extrasensory perception.
What Is The Plot Of The Sixth Sense? (Spoiler Alert!)
Suppose you haven’t been to the horror planet in the last few decades. In that case, we’ll tell you that at the center of “The Sixth Sense” is a child psychologist named Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis in an excellent role, long before his life turned into a horror movie due to severe health circumstances), who in the first scene of the film is shot by his former therapist, after he allegedly failed to help him.
A few months later, Dr. Crowe begins treating a boy named Cole (Haley Joel Osment), the son of a single mother named Lynn (Toni Collette, terrific as usual). Cole is a rejected child that society defines as a “freak” due to what they think are mental disorders. Dr. Crowe discovers that the boy has a “sixth sense,” which allows him to communicate with dead people, some are walking around like regular people, don’t see each other, only see what they want to see, and don’t know they’re dead.
After a journey that is a bit scary and even exciting, we get the twist that is considered one of the most famous in the history of horror cinema (spoiler alert, but It’s been 25 years, and this twist is very memorable and quoted!) that ***Bruce Willis is a ghost, who died in the same incident at the beginning of the film. Only the boy manages to communicate with him because he communicates with ghosts***.
Who Directed The Sixth Sense?
We will continue with pretty basic facts about “The Sixth Sense” and, this time, the person behind the film. “The Sixth Sense” is a film by Indian director M. Night Shyamalan, who made it an international sensation and also drew some comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock, thanks to the twists and the fact that he has multiple cameos in his films.
Shyamalan came from a family of doctors and professionals with prestigious degrees. Still, young Shyamalan liked movies, and according to reports, he made about 45 home movies by the age of 17 (and back then, it was a bit more complicated than it is today when every content creator with a camera “directs” “horror” “movies” for TikTok). Shyamalan’s cameo as a doctor is a tribute to the family. According to reports, he was so unhappy with his appearance that he cut almost everything.
The film was a massive success at the box office, as we will see later, making Shyamalan one of Hollywood’s most sought-after names. Then came a few more not-so-bad films, such as “Unbreakable” and “Signs,” which were awe-inspiring box-office successes. Shyamalan went with his truth and turned down several tempting offers throughout his career, such as some of the Harry Potter films or the Chronicles of Narnia. He may have paid for it because the success of the first films was followed by several commercial and critical flops, such as “The Village” (2004), “Lady in the Water” (2006), “The Happening” (2008, featuring one of the most horrifying performances in film history by Mark Wahlberg), “The Last Airbender” (2010) and “After Earth” (2013), the horror film starring Will Smith and his son.
Shyamalan reportedly had difficulty recovering from these films, so much so that he mortgaged his home to get a $5 million loan to produce 2015’s “The Visit.“ The delightful film was a success, grossing nearly $100 million, and in recent years Shyamalan’s films have ranged from successful (“Split,” “Glass”) to very mediocre (“Knock at the Cabin“ or the super disappointing “Old”).
The Sixth Sense Box Office Numbers Were Great
At the time, David Vogel was head of production at Walt Disney Studios. He was so impressed with Shyamalan’s script that he decided to buy it for $3 million, despite Shyamalan’s stipulation that he would be the only one who could direct the film. Because Vogel did it without the company’s approval, Walt Disney Studios fired him shortly after. But the rest is history.
“The Sixth Sense“ was ultimately produced on a budget of about $40 million, plus about $25 million in marketing, advertising, and the like. Coincidentally, or perhaps on purpose, it was released on M. Night Shyamalan’s 29th birthday, August 29, 1999.
“The Sixth Sense“ was a massive success at the box office and recouped over half its cost in its first weekend. It currently has grossed more than $672 million worldwide. For many years, it was also the highest-grossing horror film of all time (!), and it currently ranks second on the honorable list after “It,“ which surpassed it in 2017 with grosses of over $702 million.
In 2000, by the way, “The Sixth Sense“ was also the best-selling VHS and DVD film in the country. A lot has changed since then because nobody knows what a VHS is today.
The Sixth Sense Got Several Oscar Nominations But No Wins
We have already written on the site about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ aversion to horror films, which results in the Academy ignoring movies or impressive performances by actors and actresses in our beloved genre. “The Sixth Sense“ is one of the five horror films that have received a nomination for Best Picture, alongside “The Exorcist,” “Jaws,” “The Silence of the Lambs,“ and “Black Swan“ (to the extent that this mesmerizing work can be called a horror film).
The film got five other Oscar nominations: Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment), Supporting Actress (Toni Collette), Director (M. Night Shyamalan), Screenplay and Editing. Unlike the other horror films on the exclusive list of Best Picture nominations, it only left the ceremony with praises – but without a single award.
Toni Collette may have lost the Oscar that year to Angelina Jolie for her excellent role in “Girl, Interrupted,“ and Joel Osment to Michael Caine for the mediocre “Cider House Rules,“ but in my opinion – although I am a bit biased, because “The Sixth Sense“ is a horror film and I love horrors – at least one of them should have walked away with an award. Their acting, for example, in the very moving scene in which Cole tells his mother about his encounters with his grandmother’s ghost, is exceptional. Unusually for horror films, this scene even brought this writer almost to tears.
Shyamalan Imagined Bruce Willis From The Start, But In A Different Profession
M. Night Shyamalan described that even while writing the script, he could only imagine Bruce Willis as the film’s main character. Walt Disney Studios was also quite enthusiastic about the idea because Bruce Willis “owed“ it three films. Shortly before, Willis headed the production of “Broadway Brawler,“ which he was also supposed to star in. However, within about three weeks, he fired most of the crew, including the intended director, causing Disney to drop out of the project and lose about $17.5 million.
Bruce Willis had to “donate“ part of his salary for this film and the two that followed (“Armageddon“ and “The Kid”) to Disney to make up for the loss. He received “only“ about $10 million for his role in “The Sixth Sense,“ about half the amount he usually got at the time.
Incidentally, Willis’ character had a different purpose in early script versions. Shyamalan’s initial plan was for the main character to be a crime scene photographer, not a child psychologist.
The Sixth Sense Famous Quote Is A Cult
The most famous quote from The Sixth Sense is “I see dead people,“ in which the lovable boy tells a psychologist about the problem he hides from others. The quote has become so iconic that the American Film Institute ranked it 44th on its list of the 100 greatest quotes in film history.
In the first place, if you were wondering, is Rhett Butler’s “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.“ in the legendary 1939 film “Gone with the Wind.”
Bruce Willis Has Seen Dead People Before
Ironically enough, Bruce Willis’ character said a similar line in the 1995 apocalyptic sci-fi thriller “12 Monkeys,“ about a man who survives a plague and is sent back to the present, where most of the population has been wiped out by a virus, to provide helpful information from the future that could help bring about destruction in the present.
In one scene in the film, Willis’ character says, “All I see are dead people.“ Have you ever looked in the mirror, Bruce?
Toni Collette Saw… Cursed Watches?
In several horror films, we hear stories of strange experiences on set. The good news is that, unlike other major films, “The Sixth Sense“ is not considered a cursed film involving unpleasant events during or after it. Nevertheless, Toni Collette described strange incidents she experienced during the filming period in Philadelphia. She said she would wake up at night in her hotel room, turn over and look at the clock. The numbers were always the same: 1:11, 3:33, 4:44, and so on, which scared the hell out of her.
Toni Collette Thought It Was A Drama Film
In the famous “The Shining,“ some of the actors were unaware that it was a horror film, like the boy Danny. Toni Collette, who received a very well-deserved nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role, described something similar. She said she was so drawn to the film because of its “emotional authenticity.“ Only after the film was released and she saw it, she realized it was a horror film.
Another related story is that Haley Joel Osment’s father told him that the script he asked him to read more than once was “a film about communication,“ not a horror film.
Is The Sixth Sense Scary? It Depends On Who You Ask
Many horror films, including the most successful ones, play between genres. To this day, there is controversy over whether “The Sixth Sense“ is a classic horror film because it still has ghosts and some frightening or scary scenes. On the other hand, the horror in the movie is more “light“ in some parts, and the film is reminiscent of a psychological thriller in many aspects.
In an interview, Shyamalan addressed the same controversy. “I don’t mind scares, but that’s not the predominant thing,“ he said. “I took what would typically be done in a horror genre but [did] it in [a] psychological thriller. And that’s a distinction that’s important because horror has its goal … as solely scares, whereas this is something that’s a mystery”.
In Italy, by the way, they decided to ban film screenings. In China, the film is called “He’s a Ghost!“ – or whatever you call it in Chinese – which shows that the Chinese do ruin movies, but with a healthy sense of humor.
They’ve Done The Twist Before. On Nickelodeon
After “The Sixth Sense“ came out, some die-hard fans noted that its plot was very reminiscent of an episode of the Nickelodeon TV series “Who’s Afraid of the Dark?”, which ran in two parts: five seasons from 1992-1996, and two more seasons from 2000-1999.
One of the episodes in the original series, “The Tale of the Dream Girl” (1995), features a brother and sister named Johnny and Erica working together at a bowling alley. At one point, Johnny starts seeing a beautiful girl who calls him, and Erica reveals that the “dream girl“ is a girl named Donna, who previously died in an accident.
The twist – hold on tight – is that we discover that Johnny is also dead and that only Erica can see him. Donna is Johnny’s girlfriend, who died with him in the same accident. After the discovery, Johnny breaks up with his sister and joins Donna.
In interviews, Shyamalan has firmly claimed that this is probably a coincidence. “That’s really weird! “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that show. I don’t want to ignore something that might have been an influence, but nothing rings a bell when you say that.“
According to Shyamlan, the memory that gave rise to the film is an image he created in his notebook of a child standing alone on the steps at a funeral. He suddenly thought about what would happen if that child had spoken to the person who had died a short time earlier.
The Sixth Sense (Also) Spoke About The Viewers
In “The Sixth Sense,“ Shyamalan showed great cinematic ability. There were a lot of clues in the script that, for some reason, many people missed during the first viewing (oops!). The viewers see some clues in the flashback scene, where Dr. Crowe discovers what he is, and others you can only notice after a few viewings. For example, the fact that Dr. Crowe’s clothing throughout the film is quite similar (with minor changes) to what he wore in the scene where he died. It could be a “dress code“ for a child psychologist, but it could also be another hint that Shyamalan gives us.
Along with this, Shyamalan made clever use of the means of the cinematic medium. For example, the film showed that temperatures drop when angry ghosts are around, to the point where you can see the characters’ breath vapors. When he uses Found footage, such as in another moving scene where we discover that Kira’s mother (Misha Burton in one of her first roles) is dead, he also says something about the viewers. I certainly agree with the analysis that “The Sixth Sense“ is essentially a reflexive film in which not only the protagonist sees what he wants to see but also the audience.
The Film Provided Hints Of The Twist In Colors
For various reasons, red is one of the most worn-out colors in horror cinema. In the current film, Shyamalan also uses the color red to indicate that a ghost is approaching or is nearby: in short, we see red in a doorknob, a bullet, a sweater, a scarf, a helmet, and even tomato soup, the choice of which was probably not accidental. Sometimes, the meaning of red is symbolic in the journey of discovery, like the red balloon at the party, among all the pastel balloons, that leads Cole up the stairs, where he will be attacked and put in a locker by bullies.
Here is an excellent video that analyzes Shyamalan’s use of the color red and its meanings:
Rumor has it that during production, Shyamalan saw that red was prominent in several scenes that were not ostensibly related to the world of the dead and asked to cut the scene or change the color. He repeated the motif of red in several of his other films as symbolizing something dangerous, for example, in “The Village.”
Haley Joel Osment Shined In The Audition
Haley Joel Osment gives the role of a lifetime in “The Sixth Sense,“ and that’s still true today, a few decades later, when we can see him in several not-so-good horror films in recent years (“Kevin Smith’s “Tusk,“ and also “Blink Twice,“ as one of the ass-holes men). According to reports, Shyamalan decided to easily choose Joel Osment for the role of Cole after he shone in the audition, but not only because of that.
Shyamalan was impressed that out of all the kids who auditioned, Haley Joel Osment was the only one who showed up to the audition with a tie. He also mentioned to the director that he read the script three times the night before the audition. When the crew asked if he meant only his part, Joel Osment answered negatively: “No. The whole script.”
Reportedly, when Joel Osment left the room, a stunned Shyamalan turned to the casting director and told him he wasn’t sure he would want to make the film if Joel Osment wasn’t a part of it.
