In M. Knight Shyamalan’s third film The Sixth Sense, released in August of 1999, Shyamalan utilizes Hitchcockian motifs throughout the film to elevate the story, heighten suspense and create an engaging story. Elements of subtle humor, use of reflections, Dutch angles, pans, extreme viewpoints and color make up the technical aspect. Shyamalan also establishes an underlying commentary on social classes while the musical score enhances the dramatic key points.
A typical Hitchcock opener consists of an extreme close-up of an object or person and then he either pulls back or jumps to a medium shot. Shyamalan also uses this technique. He opens on a black screen as a light bulb in extreme close up begins to glow. It’s the light fixture to a dark, damp wine cellar as a woman walks cautiously down the steps. Choosing a bottle of wine she catches a chill pauses for a moment and abruptly runs upstairs. The only special effect in this scene is the added breath to illustrate the drop in temperature. Shyamalan tells his story through his actors and imagery and in the first few moments he sets the stage for suspense.
He continues the story through medium and close up shots with a long panning shot of Cole when he is first introduced. He runs along a sidewalk from his home to a church down the street with a big red door. As the story progresses and we begin to see what Cole sees, Shyamalan begins to introduce bird’s eye views and extreme close-ups. Cole’s mother looks out her window down at her son as he leaves the house. At one point Cole is standing near the top of a staircase and from the subjective view he/we look down the first floor where some other kids are standing. While in her presence, Cole is looked after by his mother, hence the bird’s eye view, but when alone, he is alone and unprotected.
The Hitchcockian motif of staircases and dramatic angles are seen throughout the film and aid in his commentary of the social classes. The first staircase we see is the one leading down into a wine cellar, which is prominent among upper class households. We move on to a straight yet nicely manicured staircase within the same house that further establishes this family’s social status. Next we see a battered entrance and small boy walking alone. From this shot alone, we see the variation of income levels. As the story progresses, Cole attends a birthday party at a classmates home. This staircase shot in both medium angles a normal eye view and in bird’s eye view from the top, is a grand ornate staircase. The risers and steps are lined with a rich red carpet as it winds down a turret to the first floor. This is a wealthy family and is further illustrated in the conversation between Cole’s Mother and the lady of the house, yet she is aloof and distracted. During a pivotal point in this scene Cole’s mother does not receive any assistance from the other mothers as they cling to their children. Furthermore, she is confronted by a doctor at the hospital who accuses her of abusing Cole. She’s a good parent but doesn’t always listen to her son.
Shyamalan further establishes his Hitchcockian influence through the use of color. Just as Hitchcock used the color green in Vertigo, Shyamalan uses the color red to strategically emphasize Cole’s turmoil and that of his doctor, Malcolm. Areas of red represent areas of safety for them, or what they feel should be safe. Yet he uses it so subtly that at first viewing you may not catch the connections. The doorknob to the wine cellar that Malcolm cannot access, his wife’s attire and table napkin to Cole’s bedroom fort, his sweater, the staircase and the balloon articulates a source of pain and anguish to the central characters. At one point on the grand staircase, the red balloon pops, referencing Fritz Lang’s M which represents a significant physical encounter between a ghost and Cole.
The Hitchcockian motifs of an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, mistaken identity or in this case mistaken existence, a domineering mother, silent scenes with imagery to convey the narrative and the use of staircases are utilized throughout the film. Malcolm is unaware that he is in fact dead but it is that mistake that allows him to help Cole and in turn help himself. Cole’s mother neglects her son’s need to be heard without fear of judgment and scolds him for telling the truth when she believes that he is lying. The criminal element reveals itself subtly throughout various encounters with the other world. The young girl, poisoned by her mother, communicates with Cole to save her younger sister from the same fate. It is all of these components and Shyamalan’s use of staircases to convey meaning and heighten tension that establishes this film as Hitchcockian.