it has happened again . 
a movie that is well scripted , well acted , and well directed . 
it is involving , suspenseful . . . 
it even has an unexpected twist at the end that packs a punch like a blow to the solar plexus . 
but in order to accept its premise one must also accept a spiritual lie . 
the sixth sense is that movie . 
starring bruce willis ( armageddon ) as a child psychologist and haley joel osment ( forrest gump ) as a troubled youngster , the sixth sense is more spooky than scary , though it does contain disturbing images designed to startle . 
eight-year-old cole sear ( osment ) sees dead people . 
not just in dreams . 
and not just as lifeless bodies . 
he sees them walking around like regular people . 
and he sees them all the time . 
dr . malcolm crowe ( willis ) is trying to help him . 
he recognizes in cole many of the same attributes as one of his earlier patients whom crowe failed , resulting in that patient shooting crowe before turning the gun on himself . 
if crowe could manage to find a way to help cole , he believes he just might be able to put his own demons to rest . 
but first he needs to gain cole's trust . 
the boy is so frightened by what he sees , he has closed himself off emotionally , being unwilling to tell anyone . . . 
not crowe , not even his own mother ( toni collette , clockwatchers ) . . . 
about his " secrets . " 
crowe begins to spend more and more time with him , even as his own marriage starts to dissolve around him , his wife anna ( olivia williams , rushmore ) becoming cold and distant because of his neglect of her and his preoccupation with the boy . 
bruce willis underplays his role , allowing the excellent script to do most of the work of building character development . 
crowe moves from treating a troubled boy who won't communicate , to treating a troubled boy who is having hallucinations , to wondering if perhaps there isn't some truth behind what the boy sees . 
mr . willis does a serviceable job , letting the focus remain on the story instead of on his familiar action hero screen persona . 
eleven-year-old haley joel osment manages to impress us with his performance . 
he demonstrates an amazing amount of self-composure as well as an ability to play nuances in a complex character as if he were a seasoned pro . 
it is fine work for one of such a tender age . 
keep your eye on this young man . 
the supporting cast is also quite effective . 
toni collette , as the confused , frightened , and frustrated mother who can't understand what is happening to her child ; olivia williams , as crowe's once loving wife who is shutting down emotionally due to the lack of attention from her husband ; and donnie wahlberg ( ransom ) as crowe's ex-patient , now grown , who illustrates his doctor's failure to help him in the most vivid terms imaginable . 
twenty-eight year old m . night shyamalan ( wide awake ) directed his own script , maintaining a proper tension throughout the film and crafting the storytelling so expertly that the film's full impact is not reached until its final moments , when a surprising revelation forces a reevaluation of all that preceded it . 
it is a rare movie which manages to pull that off and mr . shyamalan , as the one responsible , is certainly to be commended . 
in giving the sixth sense a favorable " three star " review for its craftsmanship and artistic merit , i must also point out that , spiritually speaking , the film is highly misleading . 
there is no scriptural foundation upon which to base a belief in ghosts or the " living dead . " 
the concept of death being a doorway to another plane of existence is a devilish lie that has been around as long as man himself . 
the first lie recorded in the bible was devised by the serpent who assured eve , " thou shall not surely die , " a direct contradiction of god's admonition . 
that same lie has been perpetuated ad infinitum throughout the ages . 
scriptures do speak of a time when the dead shall rise but that wonderful demonstration of victory over death will not commence until after the second coming of christ . . . 
an event which has not yet occurred . 
therefore , the dead remain in a state of oblivion , having no consciousness , until that long-awaited time when the final trump shall sound . 
and then , you'll need six senses to register all the joy and rejoicing that will resound throughout the heavens .