A good twist can recontextualize a whole movie, especially on a second viewing. If you know in advance a film’s big secret, you’ll pick up on things you didn’t notice before; little sprinkles of foreshadowing that make the twist all the more satisfying. This can even apply to individual lines, the best of which take on a double meaning — making them hit even harder the next time. 27 years ago, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense hit theaters in 1999, and made millions at the box office thanks to a compelling film with an even more unbelievable twist.
Starring Bruce Willis as child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe, The Sixth Sense sees Malcom attempting to help a young boy named Cole Sears, who claims he can speak with (and see) ghosts. “I see dead people,” Cole tells him; it’s a line that’s become iconic, and one which takes on new meaning with the film’s shocking twist ending: that Malcom himself is dead. What most viewers don’t notice, however, is the line’s other meaning. Cole stares directly at Malcom as he says it, providing the audience with another hint toward The Sixth Sense’s big reveal.
“I see dead people.“
Even if you haven’t seen The Sixth Sense, you’ll probably recognize its most iconic line. It’s been quoted throughout pop culture since the film was released in August of 1999, including to comedic effect in the very next year with 2000’s Scary Movie. But that doesn’t take away any of its original power. On its own, Cole’s line is an eerie one, especially in the way it’s whispered by actor Haley Joel Osment, his breath visible as he says it. That’s because The Sixth Sense is still a genuinely scary movie, delivering some of the most frightening cinematic ghosts to date, even if most of them are benevolent.
What truly made the quote iconic, however, is the way it acts as foreshadowing. Cole sees dead people, and as the ending reveals, Malcolm himself has been dead the whole time. When Bruce Willis’ character realizes this, Cole’s whispered line plays in his head. The fact it returns acts in one way as Shyamalan spelling out the twist to any confused viewers, but it also serves to recontextualize everything the audience has just seen beforehand.
“They don’t know they’re dead.”
That’s what Cole tells Malcolm when he initially reveals his secret to the doctor. “They only see what they want to see,” he says. If you know the twist of The Sixth Sense, the line hits harder. It also gives new meaning to other scenes in the film, such as the fact that Malcolm never directly interacts with anyone in the film, such as Cole’s mother, or when his communication attempts with his wife go unanswered. Knowing he’s dead, you go: “Oh, that’s why. Nobody else can see him.” As a result, Malcolm’s struggles in the film, especially when it comes to reconnecting with his wife, become all the more tragic, knowing his character has passed on.
Going back to the very beginning of the film, The Sixth Sense opens with Malcolm being confronted in his home by former patient, Vincent Gray. This cold open ends when Vincent shoots Malcolm, and as he lies bleeding in his bed, the film skips forward in time to the next fall. As the viewer, we have no reason to believe Malcolm has died here because everything is filtered through his perspective. Indeed, Cole’s line spells out Malcolm’s whole character arc in the film. Malcolm doesn’t know he’s dead; he goes about his life as normal, seeing what he wants to see.
But there’s also another meaning to Cole’s iconic line. Yes, he sees dead people, including Malcolm; that bit is obvious, but he’s also directly looking at him when he says it. Cole is literally seeing a dead person at that exact moment in time, even if neither of them realizes it yet. It’s a small detail which adds much to an already haunting movie, serving as just another example of The Sixth Sense‘s brilliant foreshadowing, and why the film still hits hard 27 years later — especially if you know its shocking twist.
