20 Great Movies That Were Accused Of Being Rip-Offs

4. The Sixth Sense (1999)

When it comes to being accused of ripping stuff off, ol' M. Night Shyamalan doesn't have a great track record; his movie The Village (which doesn't make this list, on account of it not being great and all) was accused of copying a Young Adult novel with a very, very similar plot, whilst The Sixth Sense - perhaps his best and most accomplished movie - has also compared with another Young Adult themed-product: Nickolodeon's Are You Afraid Of The Dark? Remember that show? The episode in question, "The Tale of the Dream Girl," which bares a hefty resemblance. How Much Of A Rip-Off Are We Talking? "The Tale of the Dream Girl" basically tells a story "in which leading characters are ignored by somebody and don't realize that they are dead until the final moment - a brother discovers that only his sister can see him and she ultimately shows him his own obituary." There is also a similar subplot about a ring, which is used as a means of discovery for the characters. M. Night Shyamalan didn't offer up this information when he sold the screenplay, of course, but later acknowledged that he had seen the episode - he was 23 at the time; why was he watching Are You Afraid of the Dark? - and that it had influenced him somewhat with writing the script. Okay. Overall Rip-Off Rating: 3.5/5