M. Night Shyamalan has a brand-new movie, but this is still his best twist
The Sixth Sense is turning 25 this week—here's how to watch the classic psychological thriller on TV
"I see dead people," Haley Joel Osment chillingly uttered in the 1999 psychological thriller The Sixth Sense, earning the child actor a well-deserved Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor and a place in the pantheon of creepy movie moments. And though filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has gone on to write and direct plenty more surprise-ending flicks in the decades since—Signs, The Village, Split, Knock at the Cabin and newcomer Trap among them—the startling realization that Bruce Willis's Dr. Malcolm Crowe (spoiler alert!) is actually one of those dead people is to this day one of cinema's finest shocks.
And now that the mystery is turning the big 2-5 on August 6, you can revisit all of the drama's chills and thrills by watching The Sixth Sense on TV this weekend. HBO will be airing the suspenseful title throughout the next week, including today, August 4 at 7:44am Eastern Time on HBO 2. If you can't tune in then, repeat airings will happen on Thursday, August 8 at 11:44am ET on HBO 2, as well as on Saturday, August 10 on 1:34pm on HBO.
If you want to rewatch The Sixth Sense this week, HBO is available with most cable TV subscriptions. However, if you've cut the cord, you can watch live simulcasts of HBO channels via several live TV streaming service options, including Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream. You also have access to HBO programming through the network's streaming platform, Max.
"Young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is haunted by a dark secret: he is visited by ghosts. Cole is frightened by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. He is too afraid to tell anyone about his anguish, except child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis)," the official synopsis of The Sixth Sense reads. "As Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the truth about Cole's supernatural abilities, the consequences for client and therapist are a jolt that awakens them both to something unexplainable."
Alongside Willis and Osment, the cast includes Toni Collette, who received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance, as well as Donnie Wahlberg, Olivia Williams, Glenn Fitzgerald and Mischa Barton, among others. The Sixth Sense was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Shyamalan. It was also a commercial success, coming behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as the second highest-grossing film of 1999, earning more than $670 million at the global box office.
Get the What to Watch Newsletter
The latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more!
Christina Izzo is the Deputy Editor of My Imperfect Life. More generally, she is a writer-editor covering food and drink, travel, lifestyle and culture in New York City. She was previously the Features Editor at Rachael Ray In Season and Reveal, as well as the Food & Drink Editor and chief restaurant critic at Time Out New York.
When she’s not doing all that, she can probably be found eating cheese somewhere.