1) Low key lighting is used throughout Shutter Island to create an eerie, gloomy atmosphere and make audiences feel tense. 2) Landscape shots give viewers context for where scenes take place, like the concentration camp-like setting that adds to Teddy's unease. 3) Close-up shots of Teddy's face show his confusion and emotions, engaging the audience to wonder what is happening.

1. Deep Textual Analysis:
Shutter Island

2. Low Key Lighting;
Gives it an eerie feel and makes the audience feel
tense. It makes the atmosphere dull and gloomy.
Cinematography;
It is a landscape shot that gives you an idea of where they are. The place almost seems to appear like
the concentration camp that appears in Teddy’s visions – this makes the audience feel like that is not a
safe place and that bad things happen there.

3. Cinematography;
Here is an over the shoulder shot and close up shot. This is
used to show Teddy’s emotions. This is often done in Thriller
films. You can clearly see the confusion on Teddy’s face – this
makes the audience wonder why.

4. Low Key Lighting;
Low key lighting is used throughout the film. In this shot it is very
dark and has a lot of shadows. This makes it feel like he is in a
dangerous place and is heading into the unknown.
Symbolism;
The bars could symbolise that Teddy is imprisoned by what’s
happened and that he feels trapped. This shot also just shows him
so he could feel as though he is isolated from everyone else.

5. Flashbacks;
There are a number of flashbacks in the
film that tell you little pieces about
Teddy’s past life. This makes the audience
work to try and find out what’s going on
Character;
Common thriller characters are innocent victims. The innocent
victims in Shutter Island are Teddy’s children. Teddy feels bad that
he was unable to save them.
Foreshadowing;
Teddy’s children appear in his flashbacks and
hallucinations. Foreshadowing is used to make the
audience question what is going on and to keep the
audience guessing.

6. Characters;
Thriller often contain characters that are cops. There
are a lot of cops used in Shutter Island.
Colours;
The colours used are very dark and dull. This creates a
gloomy atmosphere. It also gives it quite an eerie
feeling.

7. Sound;
There was a brief silence which creates tension and suspense. There
was then an off screen sound which surprises you and makes you
wonder what caused the sound.
Low Key Lighting;
Teddy is in a new area and so you don’t know what or who is
there. The lack of light makes it difficult to see and keeps you on
the edge of your seat.

8. Colour;
The colour red is really emphasised in this shot. It gives a
sense of confusion and makes the audience question
what’s happened.
Mise en scene;
This is quite a creepy shot that makes the audience feel
uneasy and on edge. It makes you wonder what happened.

9. Red Herring;
The cigarettes tend to appear throughout the movie very frequently and are a red herring and
make you think that there could be drugs or something in them that cause Teddy to
hallucinate. The cigarettes cause the audience to become suspicious.

10. Theme;
There is violence and murder
through the movie. Which is
common in thriller movies.
Flashback;
Teddy’s past is revealed and suddenly everything kind
of makes sense. The scene looks kind of peaceful in a
weird way.
Colour;
The colours are quite neutral and plain, which adds to
the gloominess of the scene. The colour red stands
out, especially the one red shoe lying on the grass.
The gun is pictured.

11. Plot Twist;
Plot twists are extremely common in Thrillers. The plot twist in Shutter Island is
that Teddy is actually a patient at the hospital. This makes the audience question
whether or not this is legitimate or have they just brainwashed Teddy.
Characters;
Thrillers often have psychotic individuals. It is later revealed that
Teddy is a psychotic individual. This makes the audience feel sad for
Teddy and what happened in his past.