2. The Sixth Sense
Dont worry, Im not here to knock the fantastic performances that Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette deliver in this movie. I even feel that implying this movie is awful is a bit of a stretch instead, Id say its extremely overrated. This was the movie that transformed M. Night Shyamalan from being the director of that Rosie ODonnell nun movie you didnt see to the master of the twist ending. The Sixth Sense is still suspenseful, creepy, and skillfully directed by Shyamalan. Its depiction of ghosts as both terrifying and sympathetic makes for one of the few horror movies that forms a true emotional connection with its audience. And then theres that twist, arguably the most memorable twist ending of a movie in the last 20 years. But that twist is the problem. The revelation that Bruce Willis was dead the whole time certainly pulls the rug out from under the audience, but thats because it cheats in order to work. Yes, ghosts apparently dont always know that theyre dead, but were to believe that Bruce Willis spends over a year going about his business as usual despite the fact that nobody ever interacts with him? It relies on moments like the famous scene where Willis is sitting across from Collette as they wait for Osment to come home from school. This implies they had some minimal communication at the very least, but they didnt, so I guess Willis is just used to people giving him the silent treatment all the time. In the years in between, Shyamalan has become something of a punchline, especially after making breathtakingly poor films like The Village, Lady in the Water, and everyones favorite, The Happening. I believe The Sixth Sense is markedly better than outright failures like those, but its celebrated twist ending is less durable than many of us would like to admit.