The Sixth Sense – Suicide Ghost Scene

M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN

LIGHTING• The corridor is dark which adds a sense of fear and mystery. The only light source is

coming from Cole’s room which is still dim but bright enough to light up his face and let the audience see his expression and movements. He needs the toilet but is clearly anxious about venturing down the scary, dark corridor.

• M. Night Shyamalan uses the contrast of light (in the kitchen) and dark (in the corridor) to demonstrate how something’s happening in the kitchen and how that should be the audience’s focus. This builds tension and unease.

• After Cole sees the woman ghost he runs away towards his bedroom. In his bedroom you can see his tent clearly lit up compared to the dark corridor, this represents safety as if it’s ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’.

• When Cole enters the tent he turns on a torch pointed at his face, this brings the focus completely on his panicked expression and later onto his many religious figurines.

CAMERA• Close ups are used a fair bit in this extract to capture all of the emotions and actions of

the scene. For example, when Cole leaves his room he is seen as uneasy, then when the woman walks past the toilet door he turns around cautiously and seems uncomfortable. Further close ups are used to reveal the woman’s battered face and slit wrists. These close ups of the woman are used to shock the audience. The last close ups are of many religious figurines which demonstrate how Cole is religious and thinks of religion as an escape and protection.

• There is a longshot which reveals the whole kitchen and how all of the cupboards and draws have been opened. This reveal links in with another scene of the film where all the cupboards swing open when Cole is left alone in the kitchen eating breakfast. This shot was used to reveal the cause of the earlier mystery.

• When Cole runs down the corridor the camera is shaky to represent panic, it also gives the audience the feel of Cole being chased.

EDITING• There is a cut to a thermostat which shows the temperature decreasing majorly, this

suggest a ghost is present because the cold is typically associated with death. This cut puts the audience on edge.

• The clip of Cole urinating lasts for a while without anything happening, this makes the woman walking right past the doorway unexpected and therefore startling the audience.

• When the woman turns around to Cole there is suddenly an increase of cuts. This speeds up the pace of the scene dramatically and induces an adrenaline rush in the audience.

• The highs and lulls the editing causes in this scene alone is typical of the thriller genre and is impressively directed by M. Night Shyamalan

SOUND• The scene starts off without any background music, just diegetic sounds of Cole creaking

the door open and scurrying to the toilet and urinating. The stream of urine is then the only sound that can be heard, this silence makes the scene quite eerie.

• When the woman walks past the doorway there is a sudden loud piece of instrumental which trails off creepily. This sudden noise is used to enhance the woman passing closely by the camera, make the viewers ‘jump’ with fear and increase the tension of the situation.

• You can hear movement in the kitchen but can’t see the cause. This heightens the mystery of the woman, what’s she doing? Who is she?

• Shyamalan introduces a slow eerie track to the scene as Cole walks down the corridor and into the kitchen building apprehension of what’s to happen. When the woman turns around the music starts getting louder and increases in pace to demonstrate the panic and fear that Cole is experiencing along with the audience.