10 Psychological Thrillers That Genuinely Mess With Your Head
3. Shutter Island
A real Scorsese masterpiece, Shutter Island was a 2010 neo-noir thriller and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, an investigator who arrives on Shutter Island psychiatric hospital after one of their patients goes missing.
Daniels and his new partner, a rookie named Chuck played by Mark Ruffalo, arrive on the island and are immediately introduced to the hospital's staff who are both confrontational to the investigation and more than a little suspicious. Daniels is shown to suffer from migraines during the film, and various patients on the island go out of their way to tell him that things are not as they seem and he would do well to be shot of the place.
The film culminates in the shocking revelation that Daniels isn't actually a seasoned investigator, but a patient at the hospital himself. The entire investigation seen over the course of the movie has, in fact, been an elaborate experiment to help with Daniels' mental condition.
Looking back, there are plenty of hints and nods to this laid out by Scorsese throughout the film, all of which all drastically mess with any viewer's heads after having the truth of Shutter Island explained.