Episode #4 - The Sixth Sense (1999)

Podcast - Before You Die

In this episode we huddle together for paranormal safety to discuss the 1999 supernatural hit - The Sixth Sense.

Dr Malcom Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a successful and prestigious child psychologist who, after a traumatising event involving the suicide of a now-adult patient seeks redemption in the form of a troubled and mentally haunted young boy called Cole (Haley Joel Osmond). As Malcom works with Cole to understand his spiritual gift he also has to reconcile his waning marriage and his own path towards redemption. All of which culminates in a climactic twist which demands a second viewing and which sealed the success of the movie at the box office.

EPISODE NOTES

• The film which catapulted director M. Night Shyamalan to stardom and who audiences & critics alike hailed him as the next Stephen Spielberg.
• A high quality exercise in effective use of screen-space and framed shots to instill a sense of foreboding and an unseen world.
• Hayley Joel Osmond who played Cole, vanished from the spotlight for nearly 15 years to pursue academic endeavors and only recently resurfaced, working closely with director/writer Kevin Smith. He took part in a very informative and enlightening interview on the Made Man YouTube channel.
• A stand-out performance came in the part of Toni Colette, who played Coles mother and who signed up for the script based on the penultimate scene in the car where her son tells her his supernatural secret.
• One of two films that Bruce Willis was contractually forced to star in due to a botched deal with Disney, after he caused the production of 'Broadway Brawler' to cease filming due to firing it's director.
• Intro Song: Ghost Town by The Specials
• Outro Song: Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell