To summarize the inevitable attacks
that are raised against this movie, as well as against anyone who
likes it: the twist makes no sense, Shyamalan is a hack, and it
shouldn't be on a list of horror movies because it isn't scary.
Personally, I have a theory on how the metaphysics of this universe
work, but explaining it would waste several paragraphs. So instead,
I'm simply going to boil it down to “it makes sense to me.” I
don't hate Shyamalan as much as most people do. He's pretentious,
and many of his films can be boring, but I consider The Last
Airbender to be the only unforgivable atrocity he's committed.
For the final issue, whether or not
this is a horror film, I would personally say that it is. It simply
isn't the type of horror that people went into it expecting to see.
It doesn't matter how friendly the ghosts are, the idea of being the
only person who could communicate with ghosts who didn't even know
they are dead is scary. And facing a world that would inevitably
think you're crazy if you told them the truth makes it doubly so.
This isn't a traditional “ghost story,” this is a psychological
horror story about a small boy facing a harsh reality.
The twist at this point is extremely
well known. Bruce Willis plays Malcolm Crowe, a psychologist trying
to help a troubled boy named Cole (Haley Joel Osment). He discovers
that the boy is able to talk to spirits, and it's eventually revealed
that Willis' character is himself a ghost, and died in the first
scene of the film.
Unlike a number of Shyamalan's later
films, the slow pace works here. We're not dealing with problems
that are quickly solved. The slow, meticulous dialogue makes it
clear that Cole is a very intelligent child, opening up to the
situation in a cautious manner. He knows that he has to deal with
the fact that he can see ghosts, but doesn't know the appropriate
reaction, or what he's expected to do with this knowledge.
The movie plays around with the
traditional structure of the horror movie, which could contribute to
why people deny it's a horror movie at all. The most frightening
parts are towards the middle of the film, with the horror gradually
fading towards the end. The structure, even if it's unusual, is
logical. Early in the film we're dealing primarily with Malcolm's
perspective, who can't see other ghosts. Towards the middle of the
film, we get an increasing amount of Cole's perspective, allowing us
to see the ghosts. And by the end of the film, we've come to terms
with the fact that the ghosts, while often disturbed, are not
particularly dangerous.
The thing that fundamentally separates
this movie from many of Shyamalan's later films is that it doesn't
drown in its own mythology. The exact mechanics of how the universe
works are less important than the human relationships within the
universe. That's what makes the movie so impactful, comparing it to
Lady in the Water, which spent far too much of its runtime
dissecting the mythology, rather than letting characters react to it.
I'm probably the last person left
hoping Shyamalan will somehow, some way pull his career out of a
tailspin. I doubt that he'll make another Sixth Sense, nor
should anyone expect him to. I'd settle for another Devil,
which I think is a film that doesn't get nearly enough love, or a
version of Wayward Pines that
doesn't ruin ten great episodes with a Godawful final five minutes.
That said though, this is an awesome movie.
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