--- title: "The Sixth Sense: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-sixth-sense/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-sixth-sense" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 6 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): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 6 reviews: 5 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. 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. ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 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 the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-xyyq4c/the-sixth-sense/) ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-sixth-sense-review/) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 August 1999. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/08/23/the-spook-doctor) ## Time Out Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 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 the review](http://www.timeout.com/us/film/the-sixth-sense-1999) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 1999. 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 the review](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 the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/248) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Michael Rechtshaffen 2 August 1999. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sixth-sense-review-movie-1999-1228599/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 4/5. 1 September 2008. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-sixth-sense-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-sixth-sense.md