Summary

Stephen King recommends The Sixth Sense as a great supernatural story with iconic twists and effective scares.
Despite being overshadowed, Stir of Echoes gets recognition for its eerie qualities and connection to The Sixth Sense.
King appreciated the fear-inducing atmosphere in The Happening despite its mixed reception, highlighting Shyamalan's storytelling.

From the dead coming back to life in Pet Sematary to a young girl's powerful abilities in Firestarter, Stephen King has crafted many classic scary tales that have been turned into unforgettable movies. Although Mike Flanagan's non-horror story The Life of Chuck isn't fairing well at the box office, fans are always eager to see King adaptations. When the author calls a movie terrifying or comments on a bad slasher, he knows what's impressive and what's not, and it's always compelling to hear his recommendations.

For several years, King wrote a column for Entertainment Weekly and shared the movies that he loved, along with the ones that he didn't enjoy, like Kill Bill. He had positive things to say about one popular horror movie, and it's one that still makes an impression today.

Stephen King Praised This 'Strange' And 'Creepy' Horror Series That's Got 77% On Rotten Tomatoes And Is Seriously Underrated

Stephen King loves one horror TV series that will captivate viewers with its intensely eerie setting.

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By Aya Tsintziras

Stephen King Once Praised The 1999 Horror Movie The Sixth Sense, And It's Still One Of The Best Ghost Stories

Haley Joel Osment as Cole and Bruce Willis as Malcolm walking outside together in The Sixth Sense

In a 2007 article for Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King shared the best movies he had seen in the past 15 years, and he included The Sixth Sense in his list. He wrote:

"here's a list of good films I've seen during the last 15 years. I've put an asterisk beside two — just two, mind you. These are the great ones — for me, at least."

While King counted Mystic River and Sling Blade as the two "great" films he had seen, his praise for The Sixth Sense makes sense considering the many supernatural stories he has written. Released in 1999, the film has an 86% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a 90% on the Popcornmeter. The Sixth Sense is just as impressive today as it was when it was released. Bruce Willis stars as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child therapist who works with Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a nine-year-old who sees ghosts.

What are some other movies that Stephen King praised along with The Sixth Sense?

The Matrix
High Fidelity
Wonder Boys
Fargo
The Usual Suspects

Thanks to its eerie and gripping premise, the famous twist at the end, and Mischa Barton's terrifying scene as a child named Kyra Collins, The Sixth Sense is still considered one of the most well-crafted movies of the 1990s. When compared to '90s horror movies with underwhelming villains who didn't scare anyone, The Sixth Sense is so frightening because it genuinely made audiences believe that ghosts exist, at least for the duration of its runtime. The movie mastered the art of the jump scare before horror fans became tired of the overused trope. It's also a movie that has sympathetic characters and an emotional, moving tone, which sets it apart from many cheesy paranormal films.

It's interesting that King also enjoyed the supernatural movie Stir of Echoes, which was released the month after The Sixth Sense. Both movies have a lot in common, although Stir of Echoes is a more underrated film since M. Night Shyamalan's movie overshadowed it.

Stephen King Also Liked The M. Night Shyamalan Horror Movie The Happening

Zooey Deschanel and Mark Wahlberg in The Happening

Stephen King also complimented the M. Night Shyamalan movie The Happening in a 2008 article for Entertainment Weekly. The author wrote:

"Of Fox’s two summer creepshows, give the edge to The Happening, partly because M. Night Shyamalan really understands fear, partly because this time he’s completely let himself go (hence the R rating), and partly because after Lady in the Water he had something to prove. And, happily, Happening plays as a relatively small movie."

Some of Shyamalan's movies are more compelling than others, and it often comes down to just how clever the big twist is. Many prefer the ending of The Visit to the disappointing adaptation of Old, which doesn't pay off the intriguing premise. Although The Happening wasn't a critical hit when it was released in 2008 and only has a 17% Rotten Tomatoes rating, King praised Shyamalan's ability to craft a scary story. Zooey Deschanel and Mark Wahlberg star as a married couple who are trying to escape a neurotoxin that causes people to take their lives. While the consensus is that the movie is lackluster, even the least impressive Shyamalan film has some frightening scenes.

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