If you liked Shutter Island, you should take a look at our list where we recommend various thrillers. In these films nothing is as it seems and surprises are inevitable.
What kind of films are these? Thrillers tend to make audiences uncomfortable. The slight horror becomes even nicer when you suddenly can no longer tell whether what is being shown is really happening or is just happening in the protagonists’ heads.
Our list presents you with films that hit exactly this note. Similar to director Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, they are anything but feel-good films, but rather play with different levels to confuse you.
The protagonists usually find themselves in a dark scenario and doubt their perception as the action continues. There is often a twist at the end that keeps you thinking even after the credits roll.
The Game
Trailer for “The Game” starring Michael Douglas
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This film from thriller specialist David Fincher is about a businessman who gets involved in a strange game. He is confronted with his bad childhood, in which he had to watch his father commit suicide.
The macabre game continues and brings the businessman into ever more dangerous situations. As in Shutter Island, we are dealing with a protagonist who falls victim to manipulation from the start. This goes so far that at some point he is no longer in control of himself. At the end there is a nice twist waiting for the audience.
Memento
Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s 2nd film: Memento
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There is hardly a film character who tries so desperately to capture his memories. Because the protagonist of Memento, Leonard, has a short-term memory that makes it impossible for him to retain memories. When he sets out to find his wife’s murderer, he has to make do with photos and notes.
Christopher Nolan’s film is told in an unusual way. There are two narrative strands, one of which runs normally chronologically, the other runs backwards. So we only ever know as much as Leonard himself. We doubt with him whether the information he receives from other characters is really correct. What is real and what is a lie? Because Leonard’s head cannot give him this answer, there are always doubts about the truth.
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