That big rug-pull of an ending is surely part of the movie’s success, but there’s more to it than that. We are completely invested in the emotional core of the story — Cole’s fear of being honest about his visions, and thus losing his mother (“She doesn’t look at me the way everybody else does, and I don’t want her to”). That’s why the scene in the car when he divulges his secret is so riveting; there’s so much on the line, and it’s so well-acted by Osment and Collette. And it’s because we naturally think the movie is over when that decisive conflict is resolved, that we are blindsided by the late-game revelation of Malcolm realizing he’s dead.