--- title: "The Sixth Sense" year: 1999 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-sixth-sense" fi1m_id: "the-sixth-sense" imdb_id: "tt0167404" tmdb_id: 745 wikidata_id: "Q183063" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 6 published: "2026-09-14" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:21.037223+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Sixth Sense (1999) Directed by M. Night Shyamalan · 1h 47m · MPA PG-13 · Mystery, Thriller, Drama ## Identity The Sixth Sense - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-sixth-sense - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-sixth-sense - **IMDb ID:** tt0167404 - **TMDB ID:** 745 - **Wikidata ID:** Q183063 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167404/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/745, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183063 **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 76 from 6 reviews *In a sentence:* A boy sees the dead and, more remarkably, finds an adult prepared to listen > M. Night Shyamalan’s ghost story is frightening, moving and worth approaching without advance knowledge. Haley Joel Osment makes the deliberate pace worthwhile, though the film sometimes presses too hard for our sympathy. ## Synopsis Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), a psychologist, tries to understand what is troubling Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a boy who says he can see the dead. Cole’s fear gives Malcolm a difficult task: finding a way to help when the child’s account reaches beyond an ordinary explanation. Their developing relationship sits at the centre of M. Night Shyamalan’s mystery, with the supernatural bound up in the difficulty of telling another person what is wrong. Toni Collette plays Lynn Sear and Olivia Williams plays Anna Crowe. ## Review *The Sixth Sense* is a frightening, unusually tender ghost story, and we recommend it with one warning: its patience occasionally becomes a trial. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan puts a psychologist, Malcolm Crowe, beside a boy, Cole Sear, whose terror resists ordinary reassurance. The important question is how an adult should respond when a child describes something the adult cannot readily accept. Shyamalan gives their relationship enough time for the effort to understand Cole to become as absorbing as the question of what frightens him. Haley Joel Osment gives Cole a seriousness that never feels like an adult’s idea of a solemn child. His fear seems exhausting, something he has to live with even while another person is trying to help. We were frightened by how little relief he seems to take from Malcolm’s gentleness. Osment makes the boy’s distress persist through the quieter exchanges, so a conversation offers no automatic respite from the horror. He sustains that tension without making each encounter feel like another demonstration of the same frightened expression. Bruce Willis helps by keeping Malcolm’s concern quiet and practical. His performance leaves space for Osment, and the relationship avoids the tiresome contest in which a knowing child must continually outwit a foolish adult. Willis makes the effort to understand another person interesting in itself, without asking us to applaud the effort. There is a risk that such sustained sympathy will turn bland, but his restraint gives these exchanges enough uncertainty to hold our attention. Tak Fujimoto’s sombre photography keeps our attention on the faces within the gloom. We have someone to worry about even when the darkness invites us to search for something else. Larry Fulton’s production design is similarly restrained; the surroundings never seem to be competing with the frightened child. Together, they make the conversations feel exposed, with little comfort to be found in the space around the speakers. The atmosphere works because it allows the actors to remain the most troubling things in the picture. Andrew Mondshein’s editing gives those conversations room to develop, but the deliberate rhythm is also the film’s clearest limitation. There are stretches when the same subdued delivery begins to flatten distinctions between anxiety, hesitation and simple waiting. We do not need every exchange to hurry, but we do sometimes need one to end sooner. James Newton Howard’s music is more effective at sustaining unease than at steering our sympathy. When it presses the sadness, the performances have usually done enough already. The script’s interest in sympathy is also what distinguishes it from a ghost story assembled solely to startle. Shyamalan wants the distress to remain important after the immediate fear has subsided, and Osment gives him the means to do it. The supernatural never makes the ordinary difficulty of trusting someone seem trivial. At its strongest, the film makes listening to a frightened person feel difficult and necessary, and gives the listener something more demanding to do than wait for the next alarming incident. Against the genre’s habit of interrupting quiet with another shock, Shyamalan’s restraint is welcome. The solemnity can become heavy, but Cole never seems to exist merely to make an audience jump. Watch it with someone who will let the silences last. *Fi1m score 84, published 14 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to The Sixth Sense as a sombre ghost story whose scares depend on character, atmosphere and restraint rather than gore or effects. Praise centres on Haley Joel Osment’s performance, with several reviews also valuing Bruce Willis’s subtlety and the relationship between the two leads. Shyamalan’s direction draws approval for its controlled pacing, use of sound and ability to make human relationships unsettling. The emotional weight matters as much to these critics as the supernatural unease. The disagreement is sharp rather than evenly spread. The New York Times rejects the film’s sentimentality and finds Willis’s empathetic performance part of the problem, directly opposing qualities other reviews admire. A milder reservation concerns the deliberate pace, which may test some viewers’ patience. The consensus is strongly positive, then, but the dissent exposes a clear divide over how convincingly the film earns its emotion. ## Straight answers **Is The Sixth Sense worth watching?** *The Sixth Sense* is worth watching for anyone who wants a ghost story that frightens without relying on shocks, and we scored it 84. Haley Joel Osment's performance as the boy who sees the dead makes the slow pace worthwhile, though the solemnity can grow heavy and a few scenes press too hard for sympathy. Go in knowing as little as possible. **How long is The Sixth Sense, and what is it rated?** *The Sixth Sense* runs 1h 47m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a mystery and thriller film. **Where can I watch The Sixth Sense in the US?** *The Sixth Sense* is streaming on Peacock, Apple TV, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. It leaves Peacock on 1 October. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is The Sixth Sense, and is it suitable for children?** *The Sixth Sense* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and is frightening rather than violent, with its dread coming from a child's sustained terror and dark, sombre imagery rather than gore. It is not suitable for younger children, and the fear is more persistent than sudden. Older teenagers who can sit with an unhurried, unsettling film should manage it. **How does The Sixth Sense compare to The Spirit of the Beehive?** *The Sixth Sense* is the more conventional ghost story of the two, with a clearer plot and a stronger bid for the audience's emotions, while [*The Spirit of the Beehive*](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive) is quieter, stranger and more patient. Both rest on a remarkable child performance and show a frightened child with little adult reassurance. Erice's film is the finer piece of work; Shyamalan's is easier to watch on a Friday night. **What should I watch after The Sixth Sense?** After *The Sixth Sense*, try [*The Spirit of the Beehive*](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive) (1973, Fi1m 87): A child’s encounter with frightening images, observed with patience and little reassurance. Then [*A Ghost Story*](https://film.one/film/a-ghost-story) (2017, Fi1m 84): For the grief beneath the haunting, provided patience is part of the evening. ### Reviews we read (8) - **Radio Times**, Andrew Collins (5/5): Collins hails it as a modern classic: a chilly, intelligent, emotional ghost story that avoids gore in favour of glimpses of the afterlife, with controlled pacing and simple storytelling that make it highly rewatchable, backed by fine performances. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-xyyq4c/the-sixth-sense/) - **Empire**, Ian Nathan (90/100, inferred): The film delivers an emotionally complex ghost story in the guise of a horror movie, with nothing quite what it seems. Shyamalan's direction is a model of restraint, using subtlety, sound, and Osment's performance to build disquiet and evoke a funereal gloom. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-sixth-sense-review/) - **The New Yorker**, David Denby (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a sombre, emotionally sustained humanist horror film that builds genuine unease through character and atmosphere rather than cheap thrills. It singles out Haley Joel Osment's extraordinary performance as the haunted boy for praise. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/08/23/the-spook-doctor) - **Time Out** (80/100, inferred): The review calls it a sombre shocker and massive hit that taps into an appetite for grown-up horror, generating insidious scares from human relationships and emotional undertow, with standout moving performances from Osment and a subtle Willis. [Read](http://www.timeout.com/us/film/the-sixth-sense-1999) - **The New York Times**, Stephen Holden (30/100, inferred): The critic dismisses the film as mawkish supernatural kitsch centered on a psychologist and a boy who sees the dead. It singles out the overly sentimental payoff and Willis's empathetic performance for complaint. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/06/movies/film-review-boy-who-sees-dead-psychologist-determined-not-fail-him.html) - **Sight and Sound**, Philip Strick: The critic highlights the film's enigmatic quality, deriving fascination from what it leaves unexplained, and praises its assured fusion of minimalism and overstatement in direction, along with strong performances from the cast including Osment and Willis. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/248) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Michael Rechtshaffen: The film is a psychological thriller that relies on psychological tension rather than effects for scares. It singles out the convincing performance of young lead Haley Joel Osment and the effective twist ending for praise, while noting the deliberate pace may limit its appeal to some audiences. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sixth-sense-review-movie-1999-1228599/) - **Den of Geek**, Simon Brew (4/5): The critic praises the relationship between Willis and Osment, calling Osment a revelation, and highlights the film's layered screenplay and directorial expertise that creates chilling effects. The film stands up well over time and remains excellent, arguably Shyamalan's best. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-sixth-sense-blu-ray-review/) ## Details - **Director:** M. Night Shyamalan - **Director:** M. Night Shyamalan - **Writer:** M. Night Shyamalan - **Cinematography:** Tak Fujimoto - **Editor:** Andrew Mondshein - **Music:** James Newton Howard, Michael Fey - **Production design:** Larry Fulton - **Costume design:** Joanna Johnston - **Producer:** Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel - **Cast:** Bruce Willis as Malcolm Crowe; Haley Joel Osment as Cole Sear; Toni Collette as Lynn Sear; Olivia Williams as Anna Crowe; Trevor Morgan as Tommy Tammisimo; Donnie Wahlberg as Vincent Gray; Peter Anthony Tambakis as Darren; Jeffrey Zubernis as Bobby - **Runtime:** 1h 47m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 6 August 1999 - **Genres:** Mystery, Thriller, Drama - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 1999); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1999) - **Budget:** $40 million - **Box office:** $673 million ## Where to watch in the US - Peacock: streaming, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Apple TV: streaming, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $17.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $17.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-14.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2000: Best Director (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated) ## If you liked this - *The Innocents* (1961): For a ghost story that makes an adult’s concern increasingly difficult to trust. - *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: A child’s encounter with frightening images, observed with patience and little reassurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md) - *The Devil's Backbone* (2001): An orphanage ghost story that gives its frightened children lives beyond the scares. - *Dark Water* (2002): Family anxiety makes ordinary rooms frightening, with a mother and daughter at the centre. - *A Ghost Story* (2017), Fi1m 84: For the grief beneath the haunting, provided patience is part of the evening. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-ghost-story.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-sixth-sense