STORY MAPS: The Sixth Sense vs. The Ring

(The Sixth Sense, 1999; written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan)
(The Ring, 2002; written by Ehren Kruger based on the novel "Ringu" by Koji Suzuki and the screenplay Ringu by Hiroshi Takahashi)


The Sixth Sense is a Horror Drama.  The Ring is a Horror Thriller.  The difference can be seen in the Midpoint.

In The Sixth Sense, the boy, COLE (Haley Joel Osment), reveals to MALCOLM (Bruce Willis): “I see dead people.”  The line of action launched from here is for Malcolm to help this boy to understand WHY he’s seeing the ghosts.  If this were structured with a faster pace and higher stakes like a Thriller, it would probably have been “stop the ghosts before they kill the boy.”  As is, the ghosts are scaring Cole but so far there is not a  specific, escalated threat.  We know the ghosts have made contact because Cole has bruises on his body, but we haven’t been shown attacks so it’s not as urgent. 

There is also a second, softer Midpoint for the internal line of action: Cole’s mother LYNN admonishes him for moving Grandma’s bumblebee pendant.  This sets up Cole’s Internal Climax, the scene in the car when he tells Lynn the message from the dead grandmother.

In The Ring, the boy, AIDAN, views the deadly video tape.  His mother RACHEL (Naomi Watts) must now save him from certain death in one week’s time.  This is an escalated, deadly Threat, a very clear Goal and a specific ticking time Clock.  A very strong Midpoint for a Thriller.

This highlights the fact that a screenwriter must know and understand their script’s GENRE, TARGET AUDIENCE, and that genre’s STRUCTURAL ANTECEDENTS.


-Daniel Calvisi
www.actfourscreenplays.com
copyright © Daniel Calvisi 2005-2006

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