The Sixth Sense & Poltergeist

I am not a great fan of cinema, especially, when it’s about walking to a cinema hall to watch a movie. You might be surprised and define me as a ‘man not belonging to the age’ but I have never been to a cinema hall in my life (though there is much to come in life now)! Yes, I do enjoy some movies at home and on my laptop. The movies which raise to the pedestal of Oscar or garner critical reviews or bring some controversies around them often attract my attention. Nevertheless, some unusual movies are also within my interest area (in Hindi & other languages). Let me tell you at the same time I am also a great fan of horror movies, of course, those which are legendary and worth to be called horror. Coming to the business, I recently watched the new Poltergeist (2015), in fact, just now finished. Before this, I have watched The Sixth Sense 3 days ago. Both the movies, the first hand, are really appreciable. Though the first, Poltergeist, to some extent, exaggerates the experiences. The Bruce Willis starrer, Sixth Sense remains amazing throughout!

The Psychological Connection: Sixth Sense

I will first talk about the experiences of Cole, the guy with an amazing supernatural power to feel and see ghosts. The famous dialogue “I see dead people” does not go in vain! People still talk about it. That film, to a very great extent, fits the parameters of belief. Yes, there are people who believe in the existence of spirits. There are people who have seen them wandering. Even I have experienced the existence of ‘someone else’ at times and even seen once. The boy Cole is young enough to comfortably digest that he sees ghosts or the dead people. He is fairly uncomfortable to tell others about it. People will not believe him and after all, it’s his ‘secret’. He finds a great source of guidance in Dr. Crowe who guides him to ‘success’ in understanding that the spirits actually don’t want to harm him. Cole settles with it and ultimately reveals to his mother about his conversation with the deceased grandmother. However, the true twist of the movie comes when Bruce Willis realises that he is not alive! Yes, Dr. Crowe is long ago dead! He is only visible to the boy Cole who has the power to see dead people. If you remember the movie, Dr. Crowe tells the boy that ghosts only see what they want to see. Dr. Crowe could not cure a patient in the past and he kills him in frustration. Moreover, he also kills himself. On a lighter note, we all know what Bruce can do; he is the “Die Hard” guy and a mere shot cannot take his life!

To sum it up, I liked the movie as I thought. I heard much about it and it stood up to that call. Though there is lack of the scenes that may scare you like the “Exorcist” could do, still, the movie keeps you tied to the chairs. You cannot leave it in the middle. I enjoyed the watch to the full!

Usual fear: Poltergeist scares you!

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The usual ‘paranormal’ experience; the usual ‘house shift’; the usual affinity of ghosts for the girl child; the usual escape – and the movie is summed up? Nah! Not like that! Yes, the movie is predictable in the terms of a house built over the cemetery and the classic ghosts resting inside. However, the way scenes are rendered and the bravery of a brother give it some life. The horror scenes are scary. Though the rope thing and the ‘unusual things coming out’ from the floor are something that might rest in the category of grotesque. Paranormal stuff and the ‘sacrifice’ of the ‘this house is clean’ guy are ‘necessary’ addition the movie to drive the storyline towards a good conclusion.

To finish it all, at times, I shivered! It was a good watch in spite of ‘probably knowing’ what would come next.

The unanswered questions on Ghosts:

Some movies and ghost shows say ‘the spirits do exist’ but ‘they cannot physically indulge’ in any activity. At the same time, other movies show ghosts ‘literally bringing a house to chaos’. How does it go? Which one to follow? In the same movie, Dr. Crowe can go inside the room and do his research, but he cannot pick up the bill in the restaurant where his wife is sitting on their anniversary. Is it that when a ghost realises that he/she is actually a ghost then the power culminates to reality or the otherwise? These questions, to the distance I can think, cannot be answered by movies or reality shows. These queries are more of a personal concern. Someone might have experienced a physical appearance of a spirit and other may have only felt them. For the one, the spirit may harm and for another, it may only frighten.

I will give an example to introduce the psychological angle to the existence of ghosts. Recently, I was in Lucknow for a conference organized by Indian Council of Philosophical Research. There were other boys who were staying with me in the same house. We used to dine in the dining hall together and discuss many things. The usual ghost thing came up and I came to realise that none of them believed that ghosts even exist. There were some pranks that night and things ended up in laughter the next morning. The last night of our stay was rainy. Most of the boys have left and only four were there. I was staying with my friend in a room and two other in a room beside ours. There was a caretaker as well who stayed downstairs. Me, my roommate and the caretaker planned some fun. We did the usual ghost stuff – tapped their door, windows and played with the entire electric system of the house. Believe me, they were literally dry! One guy from Bangalore was calling his god! None of the two could sleep! In the morning, both of them during the breakfast said ‘yar, we believe in ghosts now and we should leave this house asap’. So, what I want to point out is that the ghosts can be ‘manufactured’ as well. An inception can put ghosts in your mind (do you remember Regression?).

However, ending the things now as I have other things to do. I have too many questions on ghosts, the time machine and existence. Hopefully, I might find the answers to some of them. And really, the movies The Sixth Sense and Poltergeist were amazing!

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