Analysis of the Opening Sequence of a Thriller - Shutter Island

When looking at different opening sequences of Thrillers, we looked at Snatch, Panic Room and Se7en focusing on sound, mise-en-scene, editing and camerawork. I decided to analyse Shutter Island.



We see immediate elements that make it a thriller. Some of these are:

• Dark colours in the sea and sky
• Stormy sea
• Props such as cigarettes and masculine costumes showing they are important and police officers.
• We then hear big booming non-diegetic sounds when we see an establishing shot of the island. This signifies danger which is an element of a Thriller
• The characters we see on the island are all scary looking and the music helps signify this.