Have you watched Shutter Island and did you like it? If you are a psychological thriller movie enthusiast, you must have encountered the classic twisted thriller shutter Island movie. On our today’s post, we got you covered as we unveil a list of movies similar to shutter Island.
Shutter Island came out in 2010 and it blew people’s minds away as it was filled to the brim with suspense. Keep intact and read on within the page for a quintessential watch list to keep your night extraordinary.
Psychological movies like Shutter Island are all about paranoia. They create puzzle boxes that encourage viewers to participate in solving the mystery, establish reality, and look for the actual truth. Shutter Island is one of those neo-noir movies that keep you guessing until the end and leaves you with no definite answer.
Update and add on some of these movies on your watch list, especially if you are on the lookout for more mind-bending movies. Within the list some of my favorite movies, like Shutter Island, include;
- Gone Girl
- The Girl on the Train
- Black Swan
Psychological thrillers are timeless and remain in high demand as they integrate suspense and terror in spades. Before we get to list out some of the breathtaking movies similar to shutter island, let’s unwrap a bit about the movie.
Shutter Island
The movie is a 2010 American psychological thriller. The movie was written by Laeta Kalogridis based on Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel. The story revolves around World War II soldier-turned –Us-Marshall Edward Teddy Daniels. The US Marshall is tasked to investigate a supposedly disappeared patient from a hospital of the criminally insane. While on a mission, Teddy Daniels’s efforts are compromised by his troubling visions.
The movie-style encompassed in the storyline includes twists and turns, surprise ending, suspenseful, mind-bending, psychological, serious, twist ending, dark, and suspense. The plot revolved around the mental institution, uncover truth, paranoia, suspicion, delusion, mystery, doctors and patients, psychology, mistrust, isolation, island, investigation, confinement, schizophrenia, and insanity.
Brief plot
The movie set in the 50s follows Deputy US Marshall Edward Daniel who is sent into a mental asylum to investigate the missing of one of the patients. Edward Daniel and his new partner Chuck Aule travel to Ashecliffe Hospital on a remote island for investigation of the disappearance of Rachel Solando.
The patient ‘Rachel Solando’ had been incarcerated for drowning her three kids. Deputy US Marshall with his partner had only one clue of a cryptic note found hidden in Solandos room. Due to extreme storms on the island, the two couldn’t return to the mainland.
While within the facility, the investigators find the staff uncooperative and confrontational. The hospital has seemingly endless secrets. After numerous plot twists and disturbing flashbacks, the case turned out to be more sinister and complicated than how Deputy US Marshall thought.
Actors
The movies starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emmy Mortimer, Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson, and Mitchelle Williams.
Director
The Shutter Island was directed by Martin Scorsese.
There are tons of great psychological thrillers to watch. Below is a comprehensive and great lineup for neo-noir mystery movies full of conspiracies, twists, and turns.
Black Swan
The Black swan film is a 2010 American psychological horror thriller.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
They both integrate psychological elements whose lead actors have lost their grip on reality.
Brief plot overview
The plot revolves around Natalie Portman. She plays the role of a committed dancer who struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role for an upcoming production. The lead exhibits alternating moments of sheer exhilaration and distress. She loses her grip on reality to outshine other ballerina competing for the role.
Actors/Director
The Black Swan movie was directed by Darren Aronofsky. Actors featured in the film included Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder.
Awards Won
The film had numerous nominations, such as the 68th Golden Globe Awards. Actor Portman won a Best Actress Award.
Cost to make
The production budget was estimated to range at $13 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed $330 million worldwide.
The Prestige
The film is a 2006 science fiction psychological thriller. It was released on October 20, 2006.
How the Prestige is similar to Shutter Island
The prestige blends an excellent twist for a suspenseful ending. Full of psychological obsession, both films encompass a twist ending as secrets unveil.
Brief plot overview
The storyline entails a mysterious plot between two magicians, Angier and Borden, whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy. Angier and Borden engage in competitive one-upmanship. The plot integrates plot twists, deception, obsession, and deadly consequences.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis, David Bowie, and Piper Perabo.
Awards Won
The film was nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards.
Cost to make
The production of the film had an estimated budget of $40 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
Worldwide, the film grossed $109 million.
Gone Girl
The film is a 2014 American psychological thriller written by Gillian Flynn. Gone Girl premiered on September 26, 2014.
How Gone Girl film is similar to Shutter Island
Both storylines seek to investigate and solve the mystery behind the disappearance of females. the mystery of missing persons and investigations incorporates twists and suspenseful plots.
Brief plot overview
The story revolves around Nick Dunne, a writing teacher who becomes the prime suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by David Fincher. It starred actors such as Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, and Neil Patrick Harris.
Awards Won
Actor Pike received a nomination for Best Actress.
Cost to make
The film is estimated to have a production budget of $61 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film was one of Fincher’s grossing movies with $369 million. It grossed $167.8 million in the U.S and 201.6 million in other nations.
The Girl on the Train
The movie is a 2016 American mystery psychological thriller. The film premiered on September 20, 2016, and was released to theatres on October 7, 2016.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
Both films seek to solve the mystery of the disappearance and murder. The psychological trauma, suspense, and twist ending keep the viewers glued to identify the truth.
Brief plot overview
The story revolves around Rachel Watson, a recovering alcoholic. She is devastated by her recent loss of job and divorce. Rachel aimlessly rides a train into New York, fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that the train passes.
Rachel being unfertile, her husband finds a new catch who later disappears and is found dead. Twists arise as the murder of the pregnant woman becomes a mystery.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by Tate Taylor. Actors in the movie included Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez, and Lisa Kudrow.
Awards Won
The film has been nominated for numerous awards and is an emerging winner at the Hollywood Film Awards for Hollywood Producer Award. The film won the People’s Choice Awards for the Favorite Thriller movie in January 2017.
Cost to make
The production budget is estimated at $45 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film was a box office success with a grossing value of $173.2 million.
Do you love the way psychological thrillers push your buttons? Below are more spectacular twisted plot movies.
Cache
The film is a 2005 psychological thriller.
How Cache movie is similar to Shutter Island
As the word cache means hidden, the storyline tries to solve the mystery of videotapes sent to a Parisian couple. The twist entailed in unveiling hidden secrets keep the viewers intact to judge on their own.
Brief plot overview
The plot revolves around an affluent Persian couple, George Laurent and Anne. They discover videotapes of their property without explanation. More taps are sent to the couple discretely and without the knowledge of the source. George seeks to solve the mystery of the source of the tapes.
Actors/Director
It is directed by Michal Haneke and starring Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Benichou, Annie Girardot, Bernard Le Coq, Daniel Duval, Nathalie Richard, Denis Podalydes.
Cost to make
The film had a budget of 8 million Euros.
Worldwide box office revenue
Worldwide, the film grossed the US $16,197,824. In the U.S it garnered $3.6 million while in the U.K it garnered 1.1 Euros.
Memento
This is a 2000 American neo-noir psychological thriller movie. The film premiered at the 57th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2000. It is a creative and refreshing film produced by Suzanne and Jennifer Todd.
How Memento is similar to Shutter Island
Just like Shutter Island, Memento is a neo-noir psychological thriller integrating twists within the storyline. Both plots seek to uncover the truth, murder, and mystery as the lead actors are haunted by the past.
Brief plot overview
The film follows Leonard Shelby, an insurance investigator who has short memory loss. Leonard seeks to hunt for the men who attacked him and killed his wife. Leonardo suffered injuries that led to anterograde amnesia.
He uses notes, Polaroid photos, and tattoos to guide him towards the killer and track information he cannot remember. The plot alternates between black-and-white and color sequences.
Actors/Director
The movie was directed by Christopher Nolan. Actors starring in the film included Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Stephen Tobolowsky, Mark Boonie Junior, Callum Keith Rennie, and Joe Pantoliano.
Awards Won
The film acquired several accolades, such as Oscar nominations for the Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
Cost to make
It is estimated to have had over a $4.5 million budget.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film was distributed to more than 500 theatres within the first 11 weeks in the US. Memento grossed over $25 million in North America and $14 million in other countries. Word wide gross totaled to more than $40 million as of August 2007.
Inception
Inception is a science fiction action film that was released in 2010.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
Both films use the same style including psychological, twists and turns, mind-bending, and neo-noir as mysteries unveiled are solved in an alternate reality.
Brief plot overview
The story revolves around Cobb, a man who enters peoples’ heads to steal their secret thoughts. He is asked instead of taking one away to rather plant a new one.
Actors/Director
It was directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, Elliot Page, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Awards Won
The film was nominated for the Oscars and Golden Globes.
Cost to make
The film has a production budget of $ 160 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
Inception grossed about $836.8 million worldwide.
Dream House
It is a 2011 American psychological horror film.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
The storyline seeks to unveil the mystery over the disappearance and murder. They unveil hidden secrets from past events.
Brief plot overview
The story follows Will Atenton, a successful editor for an NYC publishing house who quits his job to focus on writing a book and spending time with his family. Spending time in their dream house near the forest, a series of unsettling events are unveiled. Will discovers the house was once owned by a family in whom the wife and children had been killed. He seeks to know more outlines, more twists.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by Jim Sheridan. It starred Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas, Elias Koteas, and Jane Alexander.
Cost to make
The film has an estimated budget of $50 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed about $40 million.
Mulholland Drive
The film is a 2001 neo-noir mystery film. Mulholland Drive is similar to Shutter Island in that it integrates psychological twists and turns. It creates a strong mind-bending sensation towards a suspenseful end.
Brief plot overview
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic. She engages in a twisting venture beyond reality and dreams.
Actors/Director
It was directed by David Lynch while starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Ann Miller, and Robert Forster.
Cost to make and worldwide box office revenue
The film had a production budget of $15 million. It grossed $20.1 million worldwide.
Unknown
The film is a 2011 action thriller.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
They both revolve around seeking to solve the mysteries of identity. With twists and turns, surprise ending, mind-bending, and twist-ending plot style viewers get to uncover the truth.
Brief plot overview
An American biologist attending a conference in Berlin awakens from a coma only to find out that someone else had taken his identity. No one believes him. Dr. Martin Harris tries to uncover the truth.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. It featured actors including Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Aidan Quinn, Frank Langella, and January Jones.
Cost to make
Its production budget estimates at about $ 30 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed $136 million.
The Machinist
The film is a psychological thriller released in 2004.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
The film’s plots encompass murder, psychology, nervous breakdown paranoia, and insanity. They focus on psychological problems leading to distress.
Brief plot overview
The story revolves around Trevor Reznik, a lathe operator. He is emaciated due to insomnia. He causes a serious workplace accident involving a co-worker. Trevor is fired and he gets into a delusion, paranoia, and guilt.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by Brad Anderson. Film stars included Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, John Sharian, and Michael Ironside.
Cost to make
The film had a budget of $5million
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed $8.2 million worldwide.
Stonehearst Asylum
The film was previously known as Eliza Graves. It will be an American Gothic film released on October 24, 2014. The movie is similar to Shutter Island as it amalgamates suspenseful, twist and turns, gothic, and twist ending styles. The plot takes place in a mental institution.
Brief plot overview
The storyline revolves around a Harvard Medical School graduate. He takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient. Events unfold as horrifying changes are made to staff.
Director/ Actor
The film was directed by Brad Anderson, featuring actors such as Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Caine.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed about $3.2 million worldwide.
Secret Window
The movie was an American psychological horror-thriller released in 2004.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
The film’s plots feature elements of murder, psychology, nervous breakdown, paranoia, and insanity.
Brief plot overview
The storyline revolves around Mort Rainey, a writer emerging from a painful divorce. At his remote lake house, he is stalked by a psychotic stranger accusing him of plagiarizing his short story.
Actors/Director
It was directed by David Koepp. The actors featured included Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Charles S.Dutton, and Timothy Hutton.
Cost to make
It had a budget of $40 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed about $92 million.
A Cure for Wellness
The film is a 2016 psychological horror movie. It was released on February 17, 2017.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
The films solve the dark mystery involved in treatment centers. The plots entailed plot endings and suspense within the facilities.
Brief plot overview
The storyline revolves around an ambitious young executive who is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious center. The wellness center is located in a remote location in the Swiss Alps. Various twists unfold as miraculous treatments turn out to be not what they were perceived to be.
Actors/Director
The film was directed by Gore Verbinski. It starred Dane Dehaan, Jason Isaacs, and Mia Goth.
Cost to make
The production budget is estimated at $40 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The movie grossed $26.6 million worldwide.
Changeling
The movie is a 2008 American mystery crime drama.
How the film is similar to Shutter Island
The films coalesce into investigations of disappearing people. Twists and turns of kidnapping and corruption unfold as investigations take place.
Brief plot overview
Single mother Christine Collins returns home to discover her nine-year-old son Walter is missing. Christine is overjoyed once her kidnapped son is returned home. Later, she suspects the boy returned is not her child. The police captain has been incarcerated in an asylum.
Actors/Director
It was directed by Clint Eastwood. The actors starring included Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Colm Feore, and Amy Ryan.
Awards Won
The film was nominated for numerous Awards with Angelina Jolie winning the Awards for Best Actress.
Cost to make
The production budget is estimated at $55 million.
Worldwide box office revenue
The film grossed approximately $123.4 million worldwide.
That’s a wrap for today’s enticing topic movies similar to Shutter Island. Pick up one of the above and be sure to be satisfied.
References:
Films to Watch Before You Die: Top 10 Films Like Shutter Island
Cinemaholic: 25 Movies You Must Watch if You Love Shutter Island
Best Similar: Shutter Island
Scary Mommy: 20+ Movies To Watch If You Like Shutter Island And Love A Good Psychological Thriller
Looper: 13 Movies Like Shutter Island You Need To Watch Tonight