WITH Unbreakable, M. Night Shyamalan joins forces again with Bruce Willis, the star of his Oscar-nominated The Sixth Sense.

Writer/director Shyamalan had not even finished editing The Sixth Sense when he came up with the concept for Unbreakable.

He had been working on another story for a few months during post-production on The Sixth Sense when a new idea struck him - a story about the sole survivor of a horrific train crash.

The crash raises many deep questions about the character's purpose in life. The story idea was so provocative and intrigued him so much that Shyamalan immediately started an outline. Within days the story had unfolded, and he was well on his way to a first draft.

Now, in the finished film, Willis plays David Dunn, the soul survivor of the train derailment.

The crash makes him rethink his career prospects as a college-stadium security guard, and reconsider ending his faltering marriage to Audrey (Robin Wright Penn).

And, in a twist that gives the film its diection, his miraculous survival also raises the interest of Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a collector of comic-book art with an incapacitating brittle-bone disorder.

Just as The Sixth Sense was not merely a horror film, Unbreakable is more than just a thriller.

It is hugely suspenseful, with some elements of science fiction that make it dark and creepy stylistically.

But it tells a story about very real characters who are experiencing very real problems and emotions. It raises the questions everyone faces. It asks: are you listening to that voice that is telling you what you should be doing in life?