Visual essay on Physcological Sub-Genre thriller.

1. Visual essay on film in
Sub-Genre
By Sam Warner

2. Shutter Island
The opening sequence starts with
a shot of a darkly lit corridor. The
music is sharp and suspenseful
and the intense, bold red credits
create visual tension. This is good
because then the viewers know
what type of movie they are going
to be in for.

3. There is then a quick snappy
editing cut to a spinning shot of a
spiral staircase. This adds an
element of confusion and illusion
for the audience. They are
wondering why they are being
shown a staircase and what
relevance it has to the movie.

4. Another quick cut from the
spinning staircases to a darkly
lit shot of a gate. The rain
and the music adds to the
morbid mise en scene, which
makes the audience anxious
as to what will appear and
happen next.

5. The camera then switches to a
close up shot of a hand. The
identity of the person remains
hidden, and the tension that
the hand has to the concrete
floor alludes to some sort of
physical struggle going on in
the movie.

6. A loud crash of music then
switches the camera to a
shot of a gate. This is a very
big shot that is then
followed by the camera
closing in on the gate. This
adds to the suspense as to
what will be behind the
gates and what the audience
will find later in the movie.

7. The scene then changes
to a close up shot of a
room engulfed in
flames adding the
suspense and danger.

8. There is then a close up
shot of a gun, with a
foot gently stepping on
it and dragging it away.
This adds a sense of
crime and danger, both
which intrigue the
audience.

9. It then fades to a
dark shot with falling
snow. The use of
colours such as black
and red and the
music that is
powerful yet
suspenseful makes
the overall mise en
scene full of danger
and tension.

10. A dark room then appears
which is shown to contain
some sort of handcuffs and
chains. This gives the
audience some sort of clue
that the film contains some
prison like features and
themes. This is also shown
earlier in the opening
sequence when they show
the gates.

11. The music then takes a
dramatic turn when the
darkly lit scene is
interrupted with the
strike of a single match.
The powerful editing
makes the audience
tense and anxious, and
keeps them on edge of
their seat.

12. There is then a long shot
of a dark isolated island
which could connect with
the idea of being isolated
in some sort of prison.
This was earlier shown
with the use of bars,
chains and gates.

13. The title is then shown
in big bold red letters,
ones that really stand
out. The title then
appears like it is
veering towards the
audience, which adds
to the visual tension.