You thought she didn't come see you dance. She did.

Easily the most sophisticated horror set in Philadelphia, but nowhere near as scary as The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre.

It was so weird seeing Haley Joel Osment in his child form after recently witnessing him get repeatedly murdered in What We do in the Shadows and absolutely fucking annihilated by Butcher in The Boys. Osment's performance here really is one of the most impressive child performances of all time. He seems both childlike and innocent and wise beyond his years because of his character's terrible experiences. Willis is really good and it's hard to imagine anyone else playing his part and Toni Collette steals the show as the mother who wants to help her child but doesn't understand what is happening to him. The scene with her and Osment in the car is the film's most emotional and moving moment.

The film is famous mostly thanks to its twist, which showed an amazing restraint not many writers have - the story itself, told from this perspective, is such a good idea, but Shyamalan brilliantly decided to hide, until the very end, the answer to what we were really watching. I don't think it's Shyamalan's most shocking twist (that would be Unbreakable) or the most impressive surprise he ever pulled off (Split's last scene and keeping it hidden in this day and age) but it's his best disguised one. The twist adds so much emotional weight to the story, makes you realize the inescapable tragedy of the character AND shows the events of the movie in different light. That said, the rest of the film - with the wonderful atmosphere, profound sadness and sense of grief in the story and great performances shouldn't be overlooked. One of only SIX horror movies ever nominated for Best Picture and Collette's sole nomination to date. Do better, Academy.

📝Shyamalan: ranked