American Gothic conventions are naturally fear-inducing in multiple senses. Older gothic literary works employ methods of giving the audience a sense of dark uncertainty. The Shutter Island movie trailer uses the unknown, lighting, uncertain glimpses, and dialogue that clearly has meaning but cannot be understood as scare tactics in order to capture the audience’s attention and desire to understand the story further. In this reflection I will analyze each of these methods at various points in the video as well as compare them to other gothic works.

Like these other gothic works, the trailer is very dark and foreboding, creating an ominous and even dangerous setting. The story takes place in a mental institution for the criminally insane, on an island which is far enough away from other land that it gives the illusion of being completely alone and helpless. The weather throughout the entire trailer is overcast and gloomy, and the water around the island is always unsettled. The site adds to a feeling of the unknown or in this case, the unseen; it has been said, we are not afraid of the dark. We are afraid of what we cannot see.

What we cannot see, moreover, cannot be understood. At both the beginning and end of the video, the video consists of a sequence of scenes that are only quick glimpses of different parts. Some might relate to the others, and they all may follow the same theme, but they do not formulate a logical string of thoughts that the viewer can take any conclusions from. The images, however, are unsettling even if illogical. Quick glimpses of rain, lightning, fire, ashes, blood, and character faces with pain, terrified, or even evil expressions appear on the screen. Each of these images evokes emotion; some sympathy, anger, confusion, helplessness, and overall fear. A leading character refers to an inmate who has escaped her cell and describes the incident, “it’s as if she evaporated straight through the walls.” The only explanation he has is an irrational, illogical one that provides the audience no closure, instigating it to search further for an explanation.

Finally, the ultimate scare tactic is this same uncertainty, but it is paired with immediate action, something the audience isn’t prepared for. The closing scene of the trailer is not a resolute ending like an average story. It is the most open ended part of the video. Someone or something lurches from a dark space and attacks the protagonist, but it cuts out immediately upon their contact. Directly prior to this abrupt movement, a narration plays over the video; “Wouldn’t you agree, when you see a monster, you must stop it?” The combination of the two pieces implies several things. First, there is something, or someone, trying to harm the protagonist whom we have no concept of. Second, the use of the word monster implies that there is an unhuman force, or a person who has lost his humanity, who is attempting something that “must be stopped.” And lastly, the vague image of the attacker and protagonist, the dim lighting of the scene, and the ambiguous assertion the final sentence makes the audience realize that they don’t know who this “monster” is, and that it may be someone or something completely different than their initial expectation.

The Shutter Island trailer is unsettling for countless reasons, but like most gothic literature and most horror films, it is scariest because of the universal sense of unknowing that it causes its audience. “We fear what we do not know” because we do not know what “it” is capable of, similar to Ambrose Bierce’s “The Damned Thing.” The continuous suggestions of immeasurable, evil capabilities from various directions in the trailer set the stage for a terrified, but highly intrigued audience.