More than 25 years after its shocking ending left moviegoers stunned, The Sixth Sense is getting another moment in the spotlight. The 1999 Bruce Willis thriller, which arrived on Netflix on October 1, has just been named the most perfect plot twist of the 1990s in a new ranking released Sunday. We think that’s an understatement.
We’ll apologize in advance to anyone who hasn’t watched The Sixth Sense (has anyone not watched The Sixth Sense?). It’s nearly impossible to talk about a film’s surprise ending without, well, ruining the ending. We don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn’t seen the 1999 thriller, so we’ll do our best to tiptoe around the subject.
The Sixth Sense Has the Most Perfect Movie Plot Twist of the 1990s
When The Sixth Sense was released in 1999, the Bruce Willis starrer, directed by wunderkind filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, didn’t just become a hit. It became a cultural phenomenon. Everybody, or at least everybody we talked to, was talking about “that” ending. There were spoofs, discussion groups and plenty of jokes from late-night talk show hosts. This wasn’t just a thriller; it was a film whose ending made audiences rethink everything they’d just seen, with many even going back for a rewatch in hopes of making sense of it all.
Written and directed by Shyamalan, the film stars Willis as Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who takes on the case of Cole Sear, a young boy played by Haley Joel Osment who claims he can see dead people.
Cole’s frightening ability makes him an outsider, and Malcolm initially believes he can help the boy understand and manage what he’s experiencing. But as their relationship develops, Malcolm begins to uncover a much bigger mystery—one that ultimately changes the meaning of everything audiences have watched.
The film’s infamous reveal is one of the most memorable plot twists in movie history. Shyamalan is a master of the genre, planting clues throughout the film while still leaving audiences in shock when the ending is revealed. As Willis’ Malcolm Crowe tries to make sense of what’s happening, so do we, the viewers. We don’t figure it out until he does, giving audiences a real-time shock that remains, well, shocking more than two decades later.
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Why The Sixth Sense Became a Cultural Phenomenon
The Sixth Sense was a major commercial and critical success, earning six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Shyamalan, Best Supporting Actor for Osment and Best Original Screenplay.
Osment’s performance was particularly memorable. At just 11 years old, he delivered a remarkably mature portrayal of a frightened boy struggling with something the adults around him couldn’t understand. Willis, meanwhile, showed a quieter, more vulnerable side than audiences were accustomed to seeing from the action star.
And then there’s the ending. Even people who haven’t watched the film in years know the famous reveal. It’s become part of pop culture, referenced, parodied and discussed so often that it’s difficult to imagine anyone encountering it without already knowing the secret.
But knowing the plot twist doesn’t necessarily diminish the fun of watching the film. In fact, revisiting it with the ending in mind becomes a fun game of finding Shyamalan’s hidden Easter eggs, adding new meaning to the film once you know the truth.
In a newly released ranking, The Sixth Sense is named the movie with the most perfect plot twist of the 1990s, just as the film has become available on Netflix in the U.S. (Finally!).
Whether you’ve never seen the film or it’s been years since you last watched it, The Sixth Sense never ceases to surprise audiences, even those who know the ending. It’s worth a revisit now that it’s easily accessible in your Netflix queue.
And once you figure out the ending, the big mystery will be finding a word to describe a perfect plot twist that’s more than perfect.
Related: Kevin Bacon Shares Rare Photo From 1983 Broadway Play Featuring 3 Future Hollywood Icons
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