History NightmareFuel / ShutterIsland

* The lake scene. It starts so placid, so peaceful and then in a flash the viewer is punched in a face with a gust of the most mind-freezing and dehumanizing insanity, as [[strike:Teddy]] Andrew understands that his wife has just drowned their three children. He has to drag them out of the water himself. And then she asks him to sit them at the table and play dolls with their bodies. All in the same placid and even cheerful tone.

* The lake scene. It starts so placid, so peaceful and then in a flash the viewer is punched in a face with a gust of the most mind-freezing and dehumanizing insanity, as [[strike:Teddy]] Andrew understands that his wife has just drowned their three children. And then she asks him to sit them at the table and play dolls with their bodies. All in the same placid and even cheerful tone.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was a good man, a decorated veteran and a dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane individual and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His refusal to even acknowledge her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, an event which Andrew would kill her for. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was a good man, a decorated veteran and a dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane individual and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His refusal to even acknowledge her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, which Andrew would in turn kill her for. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was a good man, a decorated veteran and dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane individual and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His refusal to even acknowledge her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, which Andrew would in turn kill her for. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was a good man, a decorated war hero and dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane individual and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His refusal to even acknowledge her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, which Andrew would kill her for in turn. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was a good man, a decorated war hero and dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane man and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His refusal to even acknowledge her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, which Andrew would kill her for in turn. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was an honest cop, a dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane man and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His refusal to even acknowledge her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, which Andrew would kill her for in turn. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The film (and the novel it is based on) is a very good example of how a perfectly sane and "normal" person can be driven to complete insanity. Andrew Laeddis was an honest cop, a dedicated US Marshal who, despite his implied alcoholism, was a totally sane man and a loving husband and father. His only flaw was refusing to admit that his wife was crazy and needed psychiatric help, even after burning down their apartment. His denial of her insanity eventually culminated in her murdering all three of their children, which Andrew would kill her for in turn. This very traumatic event, along with horrors witnessed during the war, ends up breaking his mind and putting him into a constant state of denial, creating a fantasy narrative for himself where the incident never happened. Andrew ends up spending two years in this state before he is eventually lobotomised. It helps to show how even people who appear to be completely sound of mind can descend into madness through nothing more than mere circumstance. As Dr. Cawley points out, sanity isn't a choice; it can happen to anybody.

* The guy who after trying to shoot himself but ending up bleeding to death for an hour with half his head blown off? Or the many piles of corpses that overflowed from the trains and froze together? Look carefully, and you can see one with a ribcage poking out.

* The whole movie is disturbing. Especially during Teddy's first nightmare, [[spoiler: when his wife turns around to reveal that she's missing a huge chunk of her back]].
* The guy who [[spoiler: after trying to shoot himself but ending up bleeding to death for an hour]] with half his head blown off? Or the many piles of corpses that overflowed from the trains and froze together? Look carefully, and you can see one with a ribcage poking out.
* The lake scene. It starts so placid, so peaceful and then in a flash the viewer is punched in a face with a gust of the most mind-freezing and dehumanizing insanity, as [[spoiler:[[strike:Teddy]] Andrew understands that his wife has just drowned their three children. And then she asks him to sit them at the table and play dolls with their bodies. All in the same placid and even cheerful tone.]]

* "Baby, why are you all wet?"
* The images at Dachau, including the guard who tried to kill himself and failed. What's even more nightmarish is that the horrific images are based on real-life events and actually did drive a squad of soldiers to execute the guards just as we see in the film.