Shawn Lebert, Lead Video Editor

Shutter Island Review

February 24, 2010

As a great horror movie, The Shining (1980), spurred a psychological revolution. The film was initially positively received; it honestly took a very gradual approach for viewers to accept that it was a Stanley Kubrick masterpiece of the psychological horror genre. Without Kubrick's direction, it's very ambiguous as to how the film could have developed without his personal control as a director. Kubrick's subtle and dynamic shot design compositions alert the audience of a foreboding yet impending mentality of dread that one feels when isolated from the rest of the world.

Jacob's Ladder (1990) was also a startling film about the psychosomatic afflictions of war and how it eats humanity from the inside out. In contrast to The Shining, Jacob's Ladder deals about living back in the world again, but with the post-trauma of war. Both movies showcase a haunting, mental journey that unravels the layers of the psyche, which is arguably scarier than physical horror.

Shutter Island is Martin Scorsese's next big film that hit only a week ago. It's based on the novel with the same name that was published back in 2003. The movie is a period drama, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshal. He investigates Shutter Island, a hospital for the criminally insane, over a mysterious disappearance with one of the patients. Teddy and his partner, Chuck, begin to unravel a much bigger diabolical plot when they encounter a suspicious hospital administration team, hiding Shutter Island's true intention with their patients.

The movie is a drama, yet uses heavy supernatural elements as a backdrop for Teddy's intense past. A soldier of World War 2, Teddy grew up knowing the horrors of death on and off the battlefield. The film uses clever and creepy flashbacks to instill unsettling moments for the main character's memories. The daydreams aren't typical flashbacks as Thelma Schoomaker, editor, develops these haunting and emotional flashes, expressing not only the traumatic experience of war for Teddy but also the tragic loss of his wife in a fire. The nightmares are truly surreal and chilling; somewhat reminiscent to famous scenes in The Shining, with similar depiction to the tension of going into Room 237 or quick, uncomfortable intercuts with twins staring toward the foreground. Martin Scorsese tries to redefine such subtle, alarming moments.

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