Analysis of the first scene from The Sixth Sense

I have decided to research three different scenes from the Sixth Sense as it is a popular thriller film and has many different aspects to it that makes it suspenseful for the audience. This will be very useful for when we come to making our thriller opening as we can get ideas from things that have successfully worked to create a lot of suspense.

Scene One - Reveal of an unknown person in the house

The first scene that I analysed from The Sixth Sense is the scene where the main character, Dr Malcolm Crowe (played by Bruce Willis) his wife (played by Olivia Williams) find out that someone had broken into their house and gone into their bathroom without them knowing. I felt that this scene would be a good scene to analyse as it creates suspense through the choice of camera angles and music that is used. The scene is very suspenseful and can therefore relate to the genre of a thriller film to keep the audience wanting to keep watching to find out what is going to happen.

In the first part of the scene a mid shot and two person shot are used of the man and his wife standing still after they realise that someone had broken the window and got into their house. This is significant as the mid shot shows there tense facial expressions and body language to show that they're terrified. The two person shot enables the audience to see the contrast in power between the man and the women as the man is  in front of the women trying to protect her and hold her back. This is used to show that the man fits the stereotype of the dominant man looking after the women as men are stereotypically seen to be the stronger, braver sex. Therefore, this creates suspense as the audience wonder what the characters are seeing that is so bad and makes them want to know so they keep watching. There is no music at this point in the scene. The only sound that can be heard is the women screaming as she finds out someone is in the house and she starts to back away.  This creates the feeling for the audience as haunting as the audience feel like they're there wanting to know what is happening as much as the characters.  

The second shot in the scene is a point of view shot where the audience can finally see where the characters are looking anxiously. The audience know that the main character is creeping forward towards the bathroom as the camera is wobbling from side to side to show that he is nervous and anxious as to what he is going to find behind the door. As well as the camera moving towards the door the music starts to get faster to create the tense atmosphere of wondering what

is going to be beyond what they can now see. This shot is used successfully as it creates a tense atmosphere and suspense as to what they're going to see around the door.

In the third scene a close up of the main characters face is used to show the emotion that he is feeling. The close up is really effective as it shows straight away how scared and tense he is. The close up that is used after the man finds that a man is in fact standing in his underwear in the bathroom. This is used well as the camera is moving closer towards the door as the man edges forward. The music reached a climax as the man walked into the bathroom and started to calm down as the man edges back. However, the music is still very jumpy and upbeat which makes the audience wonder what is going to happen and if something is going to jump out, which is currently unknown to them.

The scene then changes to a point of view shot again to show from the man's point of view as he walks closer to the bathroom. The camera changes to a high angle shot to show that the man is looking down at the floor where a towel and clothes can be seen all over and a persons feet. This creates tension as the audience want to find out exactly what is happening and who the unknown person is in the house. The camera then changes quickly to from a high angle to a mid shot to show a man standing in his underwear shaking. The camera then quickly changes to a close up of the main characters face to show is shock as to why their is a man in his bathroom. Shot reverse shots are then used continuously to show the conversation between the two men and the women in the background. The shot reverse shot of the main character is at a close up to show his fear and the mans shot reverse shot goes to a mid shot to show his body language of anger and uncertainty. This creates tension for the audience as they're starting to get answers, however they're still unsure what he is doing in the house and what he is planning on doing. The man's hand is across his chest to suggest that he is scared and unsure about himself. Furthermore, the audience wonder if the man in the bathroom was once a patient of the doctor to create further questions as to what his well being is like.