The Sixth Sense

By RICHARD SCHICKEL

Sullen Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) only seems geeky. He's literally haunted, a topic he does not discuss. Bruce Willis plays Malcolm Crowe, the infinitely committed psychiatrist who pries the secret out of the boy and makes him understand that the ghosts are lonely too. One has to wonder if audiences eager for scarier visions of the supernatural will respond to this benign tale. But it unfolds with a patient intelligence. The Sixth Sense might not scare you out of your wits, but it could reward them.

--By Richard Schickel