The opening sequence of the film shows the film's distributors such as Hollywood Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment and their logos. The next frames consist of the film's producers and stars of the film such as Bruce Willis. Whilst these credits are shown ominous music plays in the background it begins to get slightly louder as the last credits appear. The music then reaches a very high note that makes the audience jump in shock as the music has been so quite, building subspace. The high note plays as the title of the film appears 'THE SIXTH SENSE' it appears all in capital letters but is quite small in the frame and grows bigger and the music continues to play now growing quieter. The credits continue to play out for a few more seconds then finally we are shown a shot of a flickering light bulb from a slightly low angle. This shot puts the audience in a venerable position being seen as low down and helpless as the music fades.
The next shot shows a woman (Anna) walking down the stairs to what appears to be a basement, she appears to have a sense of something out of the normal. Anna’s chill and changed facial expression during the scene, from contentment to discomfort, recurs throughout the film for different characters. The camera angle is a wide shot as it allows us to see Anna in the frame as well as the scenery around to show us where she is. the angle of the shot also keeps the audience uneasy as the shot looks as though someone is hiding behind things and watching Anna. There is no explanation given for this occurrence, other than as atmospheric mood. Anna returns upstairs to Malcolm. While admiring, a medical prize awarded to Malcolm from the Mayor of Philadelphia, Anna, without trying to sound critical, tells Malcolm that she feels he has placed his career as a child psychologist above everything else in life, including her.
This reinforces a previous shot showing children's drawings and candles as they are out on display, however there are no pictures of Malcolm and Anna shown. Moments later they retire to their bedroom, only to be frightened by the shock appearance of a someone in their upstairs bathroom. We learn through as series of point of view shots from the point of Malcolm, looking at broken objects and the ringing phone sprawled across the floor that it is a young man, Vincent Grey, was a former patient of Malcolm’s. As Malcolm walks towards the bathroom the suspense building music similar to that playing in the credits returns. The distraught young man questions Malcolm’s professional abilities when he tells him that he failed to help him. Vincent, as a pathetic, alienated figure, represents the monstrous young man who has forced himself back into Malcolm’s life. Yet a parallel is drawn between Malcolm and Vincent through the framing of the men: the camera pans right on Malcolm as it pans left on Vincent.
If Vincent is a monster because he cannot fit into society, then Malcolm is a monster for having failed to help him. Vincent is also a victim because Malcolm could not attain Vincent’s level of understanding, which caused Vincent to become a lost soul. The physical violence Vincent bestows on Malcolm, a gunshot to the stomach, is the most graphically violent moment of the film. The camera shows Malcolm falling onto the bed holding his stomach in pain, Anna screams in shock. Not only does the spectator see Vincent firing the gun, but also Malcolm being hit by the bullet. Vincent’s choice to take his own life with the same gun is kept off-screen, but the blast permeates the soundtrack. The camera pans from Vincent holding a gun to his head to the wall to shield the audience from what would be a very graphic moment, a gunshot is heard. This extreme act finds a form of justification later in the film when Cole confesses the secret that Vincent could not: “Do you know why you are afraid when you are alone?” This line by Vincent foreshadows Malcolm’s experiences with Cole, without directly informing either Malcolm or the spectator.
The final shot is a bird's eye view showing Malcolm laying across the bed Anna runs over in slow motion this is used to show that Malcolm is fading and his vision may see Anna run to him in this way. The spectator’s limited knowledge concerning the unexplained nature of Vincent’s anger is closely linked with Malcolm’s perspective during this sequence. This is partially established through the use of point of view shots. As Malcolm walks across to discover who the intruder is, the camera moves towards Vincent; when Vincent walks toward the bathroom door the hand-held camera moves back slightly; the shot cuts to Malcolm as he falls back onto the bed in shock, and the hand-held camera briefly pulls back. This technique is used throughout the film and is a subtle way for Shyamalan to make the spectator identify with characters on screen and make links between them. Although Anna exchanges words with Vincent, the scene centre’s on the parallel drawn between Vincent and Malcolm. Vincent Grey prepares the spectator for the introduction of Cole Sear on many levels. The similarities between the two boys are manifested physically, emotionally, and psychologically. For the remainder of the film, there is a marked decrease in violence, a rarity in the horror film. This is due to the introduction of Cole Sear and the weaving of the two story lines. The elements within the film that can be considered violent are often associated with unexplainable events.
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