The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999, USA)

 

In the opening sequence for the Thriller film 'The Sixth Sense', there is a sense of fear that is being presented in various different ways.

One of which is by the use of sound. As soon as the opening sequence begins, the audience can hear chilling non-diegetic music play as the titles appear on the screen. This use of music is intended to make the audience feel uneasy as all that they are able to hear is the sound of unsettling music play and nothing else, which makes it harder for the viewer to drown out the uneasiness they should be feeling when they listen to the music. Another observation to note at the very beginning of the opening sequence is the presence of the titles. The white text slowly fades in and spreads outwards, as if it is trying to surround the viewer, before eventually fading out. This adds to the uneasiness that the viewer should be feeling as all they are able to see is the white text slowly fade in and out in an otherwise pitch black screen. The combination of the white text (that only appears near the centre) and the black screen (that takes up the rest of the screen) could show that the darkness and mysteriousness that is oozed from the screen dominates the pureness and innocence of the text, which may be used as a method of foreshadowing when the viewer comes across an innocent and pure character (most likely to be a female) somehow get involved in a dark and mysterious predicament.

After the opening credits have finished, the screen still is very dark as a light bulb somewhat comes into view. Eventually, as the short scene progresses, the light bulb gradually becomes brighter until the viewer can clearly see the presence of the light bulb. This garners confusion from the audience as they are unsure of what is present at first, which should make the viewer as an individual interested enough to try and figure out what the object is until they can clearly identify that the object is a light bulb. Something interesting about the light bulb itself is that it is old-fashioned, which could indicate that the location for this scene is shot in an isolated, abandoned area that isn’t well looked after if it can’t afford to gain a modern light bulb. Once the light bulb is easily identifiable, the viewer is able to hear a door creak open immediately afterwards. This is used to shock the viewer, as Shyamalan has decided to keep the door hidden from being seen by the viewer, so they aren’t expected to hear the door open and as an outcome, feel astonished at listening to the door unsuspectingly creak open.

Then, a female character appears in the scene, making her way down the stairs whilst the camera is positioned behind the wine shelf. The positioning of the camera makes it seem like the female is being watched by someone, giving her a sense of vulnerability as the lone female character could be getting watched by the unknown in a shoddy area. In addition to making the female seem quite vulnerable, her bright purple dress is the only bright colour that the viewer is able to see as the entire location is a dull shade of grey, which once again, displays that she should not be in that shoddy, low-key location and makes her seem vulnerable due to being so out of place. As the female character progresses to the wine shelf, she carefully scans through different bottles of wine until she grabs a bottle that she is content enough with. However, once the bottle of wine is in her arms, the female can sense something, and her eyes drift away from the bottle. This is significant as the editing becomes swifter once she sense something, which doesn’t allow the viewer to get as much of a chance to relax and keeps them alert and on their feet, aware for anything that may transpire to the female.

A faint noise then becomes audible to both the viewer and the female in the otherwise silent room, shocking them as it is unsuspected and sudden. The female turns around after hearing the noise, and it is clear to see that she is frightened due to her breathing heavier (something that is easily audible to the viewer) and having a stronger, firmer grip on the wine bottle. Now it is clear that she is vulnerable as she (as well as the audience) can sense that something else is in the room, and feels scared as the room is large, virtually deserted and shoddy in appearance.

To end the scene, the female character dashes up the stairs and away from the basement, displaying that she does not want to stay in that room as she is afraid of whatever she can sense is in that room. The cinematography that is used in the end of the scene has the camera positioned towards the bottom of the staircase, giving the viewer good access to see how isolated, shoddy and quite disturbing the basement is, giving them a chance to see why the female was so scared of being alone in such a room.