A Brief Review of Shutter Island (by The Scag Baron)

ARRAAGGHH...uh um... excuse me...uhh umm! Scag Baron here! Today, I am talking briefly about the recent Scorsese psychological thriller Shutter Island. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio who plays U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels in search for a missing prisoner/patient of a remote island mental hospital, and actor Ben Kingsley who plays the suspicious head Psychiatrist of the island asylum. I would definitely recommend this movie to those who are into thrillers, suspense, and psychological dramas. Scorsese does an excellent job of taking you into the minds of the sufferers of mental illness, their delusions (in graphic detail), and exposes the justifications the subconscious mind makes in regards to defending mental egoic-positions at all costs lest the possessing entity (or self) be annihilated, which ultimately always means being exposed to the sobering truth of reality. I also recently saw two older Val Lewton movies, whom Scorsese has previously mentioned in this interview, which were considered in setting the tone and mood for the production of Shutter Island. If you go out and watch Shutter Island, I would highly recommend looking up these classic Val Lewton titles (he's the producer of these old films all of which star the legendary Boris Karloff), Isle of the Dead (1945), Bedlam (1946), I Walked With a Zombie (1943), and The Bodysnatcher (1945).

All of these films lend closely to the mood of the classic psychological thriller genre, and speaks to how easily the mind can be tricked into believing falsehood and fear. The intro music is reminiscent of Hitchcock and Polanski, and even Kubrick.  The acting prowess of DiCaprio and Kingsley make this film what it is and are certainly the elements that make this film so mesmerizing. In fact I can't help but mention at how impressed I am at how much DiCaprio's presence has grown as a truly impressive actor on-screen, and Kingsley of course is a legend in his own right. This film is a psychological thriller, not one that will cause the viewer to feel uplifted or happy-go-lucky post-viewing, but maybe the feeling is best described as "soberly transformed," as if awakened from some harsh drug-induced-dream. If you liked other similar thrillers, such as The Shining (1980), or Rosemary's Baby (1968), then you will no doubt enjoy Scorsese's  Shutter Island (2010). AAHHAGGLLH!