Shutter Island is a psychological thriller released in 2010. Based on the novel, of the same name, by Dennis Lehane, it was directed by Martin Scorsese and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was quite a successful film, costing only $80 Million to produce; they nearly tripled that in the box office.One of the reasons this film was so successful was its excellent advertising campaign, the posters and adverts used to sell this film were extremely appealing and effective.This particular poster is the most iconic poster of the film it was used in the majority of adverts including cinema posters, bus stops and billboards. It has also been used as the films DVD cover.
The main focal point of this poster or the most eye-catching part is the bright red title ‘Shutter Island’. It is positioned centrally, but dropped down below the main image. It has a ‘scratchy’ ‘messy’ design and the colour red is a stereotypical thriller film colour. The colour red can connote, anger, death, blood, love and many other themes that are present in these types of films. The title is also written in capital letters which makes it more eye-catching to the audience. The rest of the text on the poster is written in white, this contrasts with the red title, making it just as eye-catching but also submissive to the main title. The colour white stands out well against the dark background.The main image of the poster is a shadowed face of a man; he is holding a match in his hand which is providing the light on his face. The idea that he is shadowed creates the idea 
that his character is hiding something, and has a sinister side. It could also give the impression that the character has two side to his personality, and as his face is half light and half dark- it could represent a good and evil side. He seems to be looking at something in the gloom as his eye is looking right off of the poster. This creates a sinister feel to the film, and produces the idea that this man has found something disturbing hiding in the dark. The man’s face also seems to have a black and white tint to it, and the only bold colour is seen on the flame and his eye. This gives his eye a sharp edge, and also again creates a disturbing psychotic feel. It is a common theme in thriller films for the protagonist to be man, and the main female to fall into the role of 'damsel in distress', however on this cover it seems that the main hero is in distress and may be the one who needs help/saving.
that his character is hiding something, and has a sinister side. It could also give the impression that the character has two side to his personality, and as his face is half light and half dark- it could represent a good and evil side. He seems to be looking at something in the gloom as his eye is looking right off of the poster. This creates a sinister feel to the film, and produces the idea that this man has found something disturbing hiding in the dark. The man’s face also seems to have a black and white tint to it, and the only bold colour is seen on the flame and his eye. This gives his eye a sharp edge, and also again creates a disturbing psychotic feel. It is a common theme in thriller films for the protagonist to be man, and the main female to fall into the role of 'damsel in distress', however on this cover it seems that the main hero is in distress and may be the one who needs help/saving. The other main i
mage of the poster is that of an island, it is positioned in the centre of the poster. This shows that the image is important as it links to the title of the film ‘island’. The island also seems to have an ominous white glow around it, making it stand out from the dark background.The images on the poster are set on a black background, a paradigm of thriller films; the island is also set on a stormy sea, and on all the poster there is heavy rain. Storms are a generic convention of this genre of film and by using it as the main design on the poster creates the idea of danger and anger. It could also connote the idea of being trapped and isolated; being on an island in the middle of a storm will mean that you are cut off from other people.
Set near the top of the poster, to the right is the films tagline; ‘someone is missing’, it is set on top of the man’s face, above the flame of the match. This is very clever as the audience will probably notice this last, and therefore it will create a new interest for the film. Als
o by using the colour white on the text means that the tagline does not draw attention away from the bold red title.The tagline also links to the image of the man, the word ‘someone’ creates confusing about who is actually missing. The audience may think that the man has found the missing person, or as he seems to be fading into the background- he is the one that is actually missing. This will hook in the audience and make them want to watch the film.
mage of the poster is that of an island, it is positioned in the centre of the poster. This shows that the image is important as it links to the title of the film ‘island’. The island also seems to have an ominous white glow around it, making it stand out from the dark background.The images on the poster are set on a black background, a paradigm of thriller films; the island is also set on a stormy sea, and on all the poster there is heavy rain. Storms are a generic convention of this genre of film and by using it as the main design on the poster creates the idea of danger and anger. It could also connote the idea of being trapped and isolated; being on an island in the middle of a storm will mean that you are cut off from other people.Set near the top of the poster, to the right is the films tagline; ‘someone is missing’, it is set on top of the man’s face, above the flame of the match. This is very clever as the audience will probably notice this last, and therefore it will create a new interest for the film. Als
o by using the colour white on the text means that the tagline does not draw attention away from the bold red title.The tagline also links to the image of the man, the word ‘someone’ creates confusing about who is actually missing. The audience may think that the man has found the missing person, or as he seems to be fading into the background- he is the one that is actually missing. This will hook in the audience and make them want to watch the film.
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