Martin Scorsese’s 2010 film Shutter Island is a masterclass in psychological thriller filmmaking. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. Marshal investigating a disappearance at a remote asylum, the movie is full of twists, unreliable narration, and an ending that leaves you questioning everything that came before.
If you loved the suspenseful, mind-bending experience of watching Shutter Island, here are 20 more psychological thrillers that will leave you just as captivated, confused, and eager to watch again. These films span many decades and styles, but they all share common themes found in Shutter Island – ambiguous realities, paranoid protagonists, plot twists that reframe the entire story, and explorations of guilt, trauma and obsession.
1. Memento (2000)
Christopher Nolan’s breakout film Memento is told in two chronologies – one in color moving backwards, and one in black and white moving forwards. This disorienting structure puts the audience in the shoes of Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man with anterograde amnesia on a quest for revenge. As Leonard tries to find his wife’s killer using an elaborate system of Polaroids and tattoos, the fractured narrative leaves you constantly questioning what’s real.
Memento is a brilliant deconstruction of the revenge thriller that, like Shutter Island, features an unreliable protagonist and a shocking revelation that recontextualizes everything that came before. Nolan keeps you guessing until the very end as to what the truth really is.
2. The Machinist (2004)
Christian Bale famously lost a dangerous amount of weight to play Trevor Reznik, a factory worker suffering from debilitating insomnia, in The Machinist. As a result, his skeletal appearance is as unsettling as his increasingly paranoid mental state.
Trevor hasn’t slept in a year and is haunted by cryptic Post-It notes he doesn’t remember writing. He begins to suspect that a mysterious coworker is behind a workplace accident that cost a man his arm. The Machinist is a surreal, Kafkaesque nightmare that keeps you as sleep-deprived and unmoored as its protagonist. The ending delivers a gut-punch of a revelation as powerful as Shutter Island‘s climactic twist.
3. Black Swan (2010)
Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a dizzying blend of psychological horror and melodrama set in the high-pressure world of professional ballet. Natalie Portman won an Oscar for her portrayal of Nina, a dancer obsessed with perfection who begins to unravel when she’s cast in the lead role of Swan Lake.
As Nina struggles with the duality of the virginal White Swan and the sensual Black Swan, reality and hallucination intertwine until they’re indistinguishable. Like Shutter Island, Black Swan traps you inside the perspective of an increasingly unstable protagonist as they hurtle towards an inevitable breakdown. It’s a feverish, audacious film that crescendos to a shattering finale.
4. Gone Girl (2014)
David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel Gone Girl is a twisty, pitch-black thriller about the secrets lurking beneath a seemingly perfect marriage. When Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) goes missing under suspicious circumstances, her husband Nick (Ben Affleck) becomes the prime suspect as the media circus intensifies.
Featuring unreliable narrators, time jumps, and jaw-dropping reveals, Gone Girl constantly pulls the rug out from under the audience. Like Shutter Island, it’s a film that demands a second viewing to fully appreciate the intricacy of its construction and the depths of its characters’ deceptions.
5. Oldboy (2003)
Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy is a neo-noir mystery about a man imprisoned in a room for 15 years without explanation. When he’s suddenly released, he embarks on a quest for answers and revenge. To say anything more would risk spoiling the baroque twists of this South Korean cult classic.
Violent, stylish, and laced with dark humor, Oldboy is an unforgettable revenge thriller with an ending that’s as devastating as it is unforgettable. Like Shutter Island, it’s a film that upends your expectations and leaves you reeling long after the credits roll.
6. The Sixth Sense (1999)
M. Night Shyamalan’s breakout hit The Sixth Sense remains the gold standard for twist endings. Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist treating a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who claims to see ghosts. The less said about the plot the better, as the film’s power lies in how it blindsides you with its revelations.
The Sixth Sense uses misdirection and carefully planted clues to hide its true nature in plain sight. Like Shutter Island, it rewards repeat viewings so you can fully appreciate how it pulled off its magic trick. It’s a masterful blend of supernatural horror and emotional drama anchored by Willis and Osment’s powerful performances.
7. The Usual Suspects (1995)
Bryan Singer’s labyrinthine crime thriller The Usual Suspects is told in flashback as a small-time crook recounts the events leading up to a massacre. As the plot unfolds, legendary crimelord Keyser Söze emerges as the possible mastermind behind it all. But who is Keyser Söze really?
Featuring an all-star ensemble cast and a serpentine plot full of double-crosses and unreliable narration, The Usual Suspects keeps you guessing until its famous final line. Like Shutter Island, it’s a film that demands you question everything you’ve seen and heard.
8. Mulholland Drive (2001)
David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is a hallucinatory neo-noir set in the dark heart of Hollywood. Naomi Watts stars as an aspiring actress who befriends an amnesiac woman (Laura Elena Harring) and tries to help her recover her memory. From there, the film descends into a fever dream of shifting identities, surreal imagery, and mounting dread.
Mulholland Drive is a film that defies easy explanation, unfolding like a puzzle box of dream logic and Lynchian symbolism. Like Shutter Island, it immerses you in an unstable, subjective reality where the boundary between fact and fantasy dissolves. It’s a challenging, mesmerizing film that only grows richer with each viewing.
9. The Game (1997)
David Fincher’s underrated thriller The Game stars Michael Douglas as a wealthy banker who receives an unusual birthday gift from his wayward brother (Sean Penn) – a voucher for a mysterious “game” that promises to change his life. As he becomes ensnared in the game’s increasingly elaborate and dangerous scenarios, the lines between the game and reality blur.
With its paranoid protagonist, conspiracy-laden plot, and ambiguous reality, The Game would make a perfect double feature with Shutter Island. Fincher keeps the tension mounting until a cathartic final twist that reframes the entire story.
10. Donnie Darko (2001)
Richard Kelly’s mind-bending cult classic Donnie Darko stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled teenager who narrowly escapes death and begins experiencing visions of a man in a monstrous rabbit suit. As Donnie investigates the strange events happening around him, he uncovers a sinister conspiracy that may involve time travel, alternate realities, or his own deteriorating sanity.
Dense with heady sci-fi concepts and ’80s nostalgia, Donnie Darko is a film that has inspired endless analysis and interpretation. Like Shutter Island, it’s a puzzle box that challenges you to unravel its temporal and psychological mysteries. The director’s cut provides some answers, but the film is most powerful in its ambiguity.
11. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Adrian Lyne’s hallucinatory horror film Jacob’s Ladder stars Tim Robbins as a Vietnam vet struggling to readjust to civilian life while plagued by terrifying visions. As Jacob descends into a waking nightmare, he begins to question his own sanity and the nature of reality itself.
With its unreliable protagonist, disorienting editing, and existential themes, Jacob’s Ladder laid the groundwork for many of the reality-bending psychological thrillers that would follow, including Shutter Island. The film’s gut-wrenching final revelation is a master class in catharsis through horror.
12. Fight Club (1999)
David Fincher’s pitch-black satire Fight Club stars Edward Norton as an insomniac office worker who forms an underground fight club with the charismatic Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). As their “fight club” escalates into something much more sinister, the film takes a turn into the surreal and the shocking.
Fight Club is a film that’s impossible to discuss without spoiling its big twist. Suffice it to say, like Shutter Island, it pulls the rug out from under you and forces you to question everything that came before. It’s a film that only grows more fascinating and provocative with each viewing.
13. The Others (2001)
Alejandro Amenábar’s gothic ghost story The Others stars Nicole Kidman as a mother caring for her photosensitive children in a remote mansion in the aftermath of World War II. When strange events start happening around the house, she begins to suspect they are not alone.
Dripping with slow-burn dread and atmospheric unease, The Others is a master class in understated horror. Like Shutter Island, it saves its biggest twist for the final moments, reframing everything in a devastating new light. It’s a haunting, heartbreaking film that lingers long after the credits roll.
14. Primal Fear (1996)
Gregory Hoblit’s courtroom thriller Primal Fear stars Richard Gere as a hotshot defense attorney who takes on the case of a young altar boy (Edward Norton in his breakout role) accused of murdering a priest. As the trial unfolds, a shocking secret emerges that upends everything.
Anchored by powerhouse performances from Gere and Norton, Primal Fear is a gripping legal drama with a killer twist. Like Shutter Island, it pulls the rug out from under you just when you think you have it all figured out. It’s a film that rewards repeat viewings to fully appreciate the clues hidden in plain sight.
15. The Prestige (2006)
Christopher Nolan’s period thriller The Prestige stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as rival magicians in turn-of-the-century London locked in an escalating battle of wits and illusions. As their obsessive quest for the perfect trick turns deadly, the film delves into themes of secrecy, sacrifice, and the blurred lines between art and reality.
Structured like a magic trick itself, The Prestige is a film that demands close attention as it shuffles timelines and perspectives. Like Shutter Island, it’s a film that plays with the audience’s perceptions and builds to a stunning final revelation. It’s a rich, rewarding puzzle box of a film that only gets better with each viewing.
16. The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber’s sci-fi thriller The Butterfly Effect stars Ashton Kutcher as a college student who discovers he has the ability to travel back in time and change events from his troubled childhood. But each change he makes has unexpected and often devastating consequences.
With its fractured timeline, unreliable memories, and exploration of trauma, The Butterfly Effect has much in common with Shutter Island. It’s a film that grapples with the weight of guilt and the desire to rewrite the past, building to a gut-punch of an ending. The director’s cut features a significantly different and even more devastating conclusion.
17. Inception (2010)
Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending sci-fi thriller Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals secrets from people’s dreams. When he’s given a chance to regain his old life in exchange for planting an idea in a target’s subconscious, he assembles a team for the most dangerous heist of his career.
With its labyrinthine plot, dazzling visuals, and ambiguous ending, Inception is a film that demands multiple viewings to fully unpack. Like Shutter Island, it’s a film that blurs the lines between reality and illusion, leaving you questioning everything you’ve seen. It’s a towering achievement of both cerebral and visceral filmmaking.
18. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Anthony Minghella’s lush adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, a charming sociopath who infiltrates the lives of a wealthy playboy (Jude Law) and his girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow) in 1950s Italy. As Ripley’s obsession and deception spiral out of control, the film becomes a tense psychological thriller.
With its themes of identity, obsession, and the corrosive effects of guilt, The Talented Mr. Ripley would make a fascinating double feature with Shutter Island. Damon’s performance is a revelation, slowly peeling back the layers of Ripley’s psyche to reveal the emptiness and desperation beneath his smooth facade.
19. Zodiac (2007)
David Fincher’s Zodiac is a meticulous, slow-burn thriller about the hunt for the notorious Zodiac Killer in 1960s and 70s San Francisco. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist who becomes obsessed with solving the case, even as the investigation stretches on for years without resolution.
Like Shutter Island, Zodiac is a film that explores the toll that obsession can take on the psyche. As Graysmith becomes consumed by the case, his grip on reality starts to fray, blurring the lines between fact and speculation. It’s a haunting, ambiguous film that captures the unease and paranoia of a city under siege.
20. The Lighthouse (2019)
Robert Eggers’ hallucinatory horror film The Lighthouse stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers slowly losing their minds on a remote New England island in the 1890s. Shot in black and white and presented in a nearly square aspect ratio, the film is a claustrophobic descent into madness.
With its unreliable narrators, shifting power dynamics, and ambiguous reality, The Lighthouse is like Shutter Island by way of Herman Melville and H.P. Lovecraft. Dafoe and Pattinson give tour-de-force performances as men pushed to the brink of sanity by isolation, alcohol, and their own dark impulses. It’s a challenging, unforgettable film that lingers long after its haunting final image.
These 20 films barely scratch the surface of the rich world of psychological thrillers, but they’re a great place to start if you’re chasing the high of Shutter Island. From gothic ghost stories to time-bending sci-fi, these movies will keep you guessing, gasping, and eager to hit play again. Just don’t blame us if you start questioning your own sanity along the way.
