Shutter Island Reviews & Other Movie Recommendations

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all of us around the globe to stay in the comforts of our own homes. Social interactions were prohibited for months since the first case was recorded in December 2020. Although things are slowly starting to get better with the creation of the vaccine, social gatherings are still highly discouraged. With this, online platforms which aim to connect people regardless of the distance between them thrived.

One of these platforms is Netflix Party – a platform designed for online movie nights. Through Netflix Party, a number of people can join and watch a film together while being able to interact with one another through chat at the same time. With this, various movies, no matter how old, are given attention again nowadays. One film, in special, is Shutter Island.

Shutter Island is a mystery, thriller, and drama movie adaptation by Martin Scorsese and based on the Shutter Island book by Dennis Lehane. While the novel was rated 4.08 out of 5 by Goodreads, the movie got 68% from Rotten Tomatoes, a 76% score from the audiences of the same site, and 8.2/10 from IMDb. Candice Frederic, a top critic on the Rotten Tomatoes site, wrote that the film is a twisted psychological thriller that makes the viewer guess until its very last scene and that it is another of DiCaprio and Scorsese’s fantastic collaborations. However, another critic, Adam Woodward, wrote that the last scene was hurried, and therefore problematic and is somewhat insulting to the audience’s understanding of the film.

Although some reviews were not that promising, the film was still able to capture a lot of audiences and stir talk among them through its complicated story. Additionally, Shutter Island’s vague and unexpected ending created numerous opposing views among audiences, and so the film was continuously talked about regardless of whether the viewer liked it or not. It was open to the audience’s own views and understanding of the story, and so theories and assumptions were being made even long after having watched the movie. Another thriller movie similar to Shutter Island is “Alone”, a 2020 American thriller film directed by John Hyams which garnered quite high review ratings on platforms such as Gatsby, IMdB, and Rotten tomatoes. Check out Gatsby’s review for “Alone”

The film was released on February 19, 2010, and is still talked about today. Other people involved in the making of the movie adaptation involve producers Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Bradley J. Fischer, and director Martin Scorsese. Additionally, Shutter Island’s cast was composed of promising actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, and Max Von Sydow, among others. The film achieved a box office gross of $128 million in the United States. With this, here is Shutter Island’s plot.

The movie follows the story of U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels played by DiCaprio, as well as his new partner Chuck Aule played by Mark Ruffalo. The two try to solve the escape of a murderer from Ashecliffe Hospital, an asylum located on a remote island and has a fortress-like built. While trying to solve the case, the two encounter their own fears and doubts to escape the island alive and sane.

Shutter Island received 11 awards of its 66 nominations. Among their wins were Best Art Director and Honorable Mentions from the Awards Circuit Community. Additionally, Gran Premio Internazionale del Doppiaggio awarded the film with Best Picture and Best Supporting Voice Actor for Dario Penne who dubbed Ben Kingsley, making Shutter Island more widely available internationally.

Audiences, meanwhile, were captivated by the film’s complicated ending. It was common for those who finished the film to resort to searching “shutter island ending explained” online right after. Maymay A, an audience member, even wrote that even after knowing the film’s ending, Shutter Island remains entertaining and impactful, in Rotten Tomatoes reviews. However, no official explanation was released by the film director and writers. Additionally, there are no news about Shutter Island’s part two, which will hopefully bring light to its ending. With this, fans were left to their own assumptions and theories as well as a desire to watch similar, complicated movies.

With that in mind, here is a list of other films that will surely keep you on your toes from start to finish.

With this, we aim to ease your worries for the circumstance we are globally facing nowadays. Although it might not give you the entertainment and comfort of going to the movies with friends and family, we sincerely hope that it can give you some sense of familiarity.