It's easy to make this film be about the twist.
Or the fact that there are so many cleverly hidden clues.

Let's not talk about that.

Let's talk about the fact that this is one of the most beautifully constructed and deftly told ghost stories ever made.

I am convinced that Shyamalan is more a storyteller than a director. With this film, which basically put him on the map, he shows that he knows, loves and understands storytelling. It is a shame that along the way, with his later efforts, he seems to have convinced himself that he is a great director as well. It seems that the bigger the budget, the more apparent his flaws become.

This is absolutely…

Lots of people hate on M. Night Shyamalan. Points of attack include: "what has he done since Signs that's good?", "he uses too many plot twists", "his bad outweighs the good". All these criticisms are fair, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I feel, sometimes, like I'm the only person who thought The Village was good, and who enjoyed The Happening on the grounds that it is hilarious. To be fair, I haven't seen The Last Airbender, and I don't think I'm ever going to (I trust people on that one). It's a shame, though, that his commercial failures have overshadowed his moments of genius. The Sixth Sense being one of them. Shyamalan has been caricatured as a self absorbed…

M. Night Shyamalan a name now associated with box office duds and failures. That's a shame because he got off to such a great start with this film.

The Sixth Sense is a ghost story and for this type of film to work it needs to be scary or creepy. Fortunately for us it succeeds with flying colors in that area. It's one of the few films in the history of cinema that has made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and genuinely creeped me out. Shyamalan achieves this creepiness with a great story, and camera work that creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that had me starring at the screen wondering what I'd see next. I felt…

There were a million boring ways for M. Night Shyamalan to turn every trick of "The Sixth Sense" to cornerstone pieces of a larger puzzle that snapped into place. Would have made for great re-watch material, but I'm not sure I'd pass Shyamalan's moody crash course with even a duster in hand. For lack of better words, "The Sixth Sense" emotionally killed me. Through superficial terror and skin-searing tremors, its goosebumps feel those of a hungry artist, slaves in harmony and fear, the way Spielberg could once carve sympathy in the everyday darkness of the human soul.

It isn't, ostensibly, a mystery, but a sort of ageless trivia following a journeyed heartbreak. Found in the adage of struggling mama bear…