Where was The Sixth Sense filmed? All filming locations explored

The Sixth Sense is the film that established M. Night Shyamalan as a top horror/thriller director. It was hugely successful and has become a part of pop culture. Like most of his films, it was primarily filmed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose architecture added to the film's atmosphere.

The story follows child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) as he deals with the trauma of being shot by a former patient. His new patient, Cole Sear (Joel Osment), is emotionally distressed and often fearful. Malcolm works to understand Cole's problems and discovers a chilling secret.

The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis, Toni Collett, Hayley Joel Osment, and Olivia Williams, was released on August 6, 1999.

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The Sixth Sense was filmed in Philadelphia

M Night Shyamalan has a special affinity with Philadelphia, the city he grew up in and where most of his films are based. The Sixth Sense is also almost completely filmed in Philadelphia, and only a few shots like the murdered little girl's house and the hospital scene were taken from other places like 47th Street, Chicago, and the Bryn Mawr Hospital, which is a suburb.

The iconic restaurant scene where Malcolm misses the anniversary date was shot in Striped Bass, located at 1500 Walnut Street. The church where he met Cole for the first time was St. Augustine Church, located in 4th and Vine Street.

A house located at 2302 St. Alban's Street in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia became Cole's house. Alban Street was built for the industrial factory workers of the city in 1870s and later earned the nickname of 'Devil's Pocket' due to growing criminal activities.

The fictional St. Anthony Academy for boys was portrayed by Pierce College at 1420 Pine Street, which is another historical landmark of the city. The other important filming sites are the Philadelphia Zoo, the University of Pennsylvania, Union Home Tower, Society Hill, and Strawberry Mansion.

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What is The Sixth Sense about?

The Sixth Sense is about Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who is shot by a disturbed ex-patient. This incident left him physically and emotionally wounded. However, it doesn't stop him from helping other children in need.

He meets Cole Sear, a child who is always disturbed and distressed. Malcolm builds a friendly relationship with the boy and finds out that Cole can see dead people. In his visions, the ghosts are often wounded and disfigured which disturbs him, but he can't stop seeing them. Malcolm, like everyone else, has a hard time believing Cole, but eventually, he realizes that he isn't lying and can actually communicate with ghosts.

This realization makes it easier for Malcolm to help his patient. However, Cole's personal life is falling apart, as after the incident of getting shot, the couple had grown apart and his wife is now also seeing someone else. Eventually, Cole is able to accept and embrace his special ability and even prove to his mother Lynn, that he can actually see dead people.

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Why is The Sixth Sense so popular?

The Sixth Sense is often considered one of the greatest films in the horror genre. The American Film Institute named it the 89th-best American film of all time in a poll conducted in 2007. The Writer's Guild of America ranked the film's screenplay as 50th in its list of 101 Greatest Screenplays ever written in 2013. The film was also nominated for six Academy Awards in the year it was released.

However, the reason for the insane popularity of The Sixth Sense is not just the quality of the film but the ending that no one saw coming. The film ends on a shocking revelation that left the audience speechless, for how cleverly it was woven into the story.

The ending of the film propelled the viewers to revisit the film to find clues about the coming twist. Even without the twist, the film has remarkable atmospheric horror without any jump scares, great music, effective editing, and great performances by the actors. Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collett earned Academy Award nominations for their supporting role, while M Night Shyamalan was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Director.

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The Sixth Sense is available on Disney+ with a subscription and Amazon Prime Video on rent at $3.79, or purchase at $17.99.