At first glance,
Shutter Island would seem an odd movie to review for a science fiction site. It opens as a noir thriller, with homage to such movies as
Out of the Past,
In a Lonely Place and
The Big Combo, and is set in 1954, at a time when the House Un-American Activities Committee whipped up anti-Communist paranoia. However, little screen time elapses before one realizes that the noir elements in fact share space with three other genres: Gothic, haunted house story and existential horror movie, with twists and reversals reaching frantic levels as it spin towards its climax.
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