The Willows Film Analysis

Whether one believes in a supernatural world or not at all, it is usually safe to say that every person has had an experience that sent chills down his or her spine. That eerie, hair-raising feeling may come from a chilling movie or simply walking around your own, silent house in the dark. No matter what the experience, most people are overcome by this emotion and feel the need to get out of his or her situation as soon as possible. The occurrence of this sensation is seen in the protagonist, Cole Sears, of M. Night Shyamalan’s 1999 film The Sixth Sense. It is also witnessed in the characters of Algernon Blackwood’s story “The Willows.” In each of these scenarios, the characters experience a presence that cannot be explained in terms of their …show more content…
On their journey down the Danube River, they enter an isolated area that they come to believe is possessed. With explanations being that their boat is scratched, their paddle is missing, there are holes in the sand to name a few, the two men become increasingly concerned about their chances of surviving this trip, let alone a night on this island. Although they have physical “evidence” of some being other than themselves being on the island, neither of them ever come into contact with a supernatural presence; they always just see the results of its actions. For this reason, it is plausible to believe that they use their proprioception in sensing that some phantom being is at hand. For example, when they are in the tent for the night, both the protagonist and “the Swede” admit to hearing “little patterings” and experiencing “a sense of disturbance” (Blackwood 8). There is no explanation for feeling this disturbance other than that of his proprioceptive sense being off balance, not pleasing. (is there a moral dimension to this at all in the fiction? just thinking) In the end, they never do experience a supernatural happening first-hand but are always aware of its