4
Jk Wbip and the /pike: talc/ of boman bondage
By Kalindi LaTorre
FEATURE'S COLUMNIST
I have always viewed
large gatherings of people
through a squinted eye of sus
picion. My foremost fear re
mains constant: What if they
chase me?
On account of this con
cern, it is my habitual practice
upon confrontation to dart
quickly away in the opposite
direction. Thanks to my
speedy evacuation abilities, I
have never been caught.
I contemplated this disor
der as I glared menacingly at
the silent telephone. With an
unwilling and violent intes
tine, I digested the bitter
truth. My room was not facili
tating the evening's scheduled
social events, and the tele
phone would provide me with
no comparable substitute for
such activities.
The desire to communi
cate and interact with my
peers finally overcame my so
cial worries. Forcing bravery
into my soul, a plan formu
lated in my destitute mind.
My formerly immobilized
limbs became active, and with
a sudden swing of inspiration
Sixth Sense gets rave reviews
By Peter Morscheck
FEATURES FILM CRITIC
A former patient (Donnie
Wahlberg) breaks into the home
of a noted child psychiatrist
(Bruce Willis) and shoots him be
fore committing suicide himself.
A year later the psychiatrist ap
proaches a new patient, a young
boy with similar problems. He
hopes to find redemption for the
former patient he could not save
by helping the new, troubled child
(Haley Jones Osmont). Thus be
gins The Sixth Sense, an intense
and scary drama that lies some
where between the realms of psy
chological thriller and horror.
I know what you're thinking:
Action star Bruce Willis and
former New Kid Donnie
Wahlberg in a character-driven
drama? Of course that's a scary
concept. But the film works due
to a combination of factors. Chief
among these is the pace of the
story, which unfolds realistically
and on the human level before
anything supernatural begins.
Then there's 11 year-old Haley
Joel Osmont, arguably the best
child actor to come along this side
of Anna Paquin. Do not be sur-
FeatttreS
and coura
geous deter
mination, I
set off for
the gleaming
halls of
Milner in
search of the
Friday night
dance.
gj Wk
I moved
with the
grace and
furtiveness
of a silent
panther.
Gliding
stealthily
across the
lawn, I ap
proached a
seemingly
obscure side
door, avoid
ing all hu
man ob
stacles. I
confidently
made my en
trance.
Unfortu
nately, I had
not consid
ered the pos-
I have always depended on the kindness of
strangers and other odd characters.
sibility that there would be par
tially naked young men bois
prised to see him nominated for
an Academy Award later this year.
The boy's problem? He thinks
he see ghosts, among other things.
Of course, no one believes him,
making him a social outcast at
school and even driving a large
wedge between him and his
mother. Slowly, he and the psy
chiatrist bond Rain Man-style
through lots of one-on-one conver
sations. Only then does the film
begin to get eerie, building up to
an ending that pulls everything
together in a truly surprising way.
Rave reviews came from
other Guilford students as well.
Say fourth-year Becky Ray, "It
didn't rely on the usual over-use
of production techniques to create
a scary feeling." Her brother
Greg concurred, "I enjoyed the
texture of the film: dark, sen
sual, soft, rich, and almost
smooth. The film lulls you into
a place that feels positive and
then it just keeps getting
worse." To say too much would
spoil the story, but we all rec
ommend this one for the story,
the acting, and the discussions
it will generate on the car ride
back home and beyOnd.
COURTESY OF WRITER
terously strutting about the
door I had so artfully chosen.
ARRfVAU DAY
by Zacß Hample
J SO LOMGr, SOH\
SEE HA IN J
FOURY£AKS[)
THE SUILLF6ftDIAfc
AUGUST- 27," 1999
A gigantic nipple stared me
right in the eyeball. It was pink.
I was so scandalized I
practically fainted, and
changed my course of direc
tion immediately. Scrambling
up a stairwell feeling dejected
and startled, I no longer
sought the tremor of glitzy
lights and eager faces. It was
the red brightness of the exit
symbol that I now longed for.
After what seemed like
ceaseless hours of searching,
I found my route to escape.
"Aha!" I exclaimed inwardly,
and burst through the door
with easy and fresh relief.
Towering before me like a
huge, ominous giant stood the
entire freshman class. I gaped
wildly at them. My eyes
squinted beneath the stark col
ors and vivid lights that were
smeared against the blackness
of the surrounding night. I
could not move.
With an explosion of
coursing heat, I suddenly felt
my blood begin to circulate. I
tore across the lawn with the
urgency of a hunted elk, flee
ing into the shadows where
the burning heat of my racing
heart fell loosely away upon
the path behind me.