Shutter Island

Why Is Shutter Island Rated R?

Violent and disturbing images unexpectedly appear throughout this film, often in flashbacks sequences. These include piles of corpses at a Nazi extermination camp, a Nazi commander who is repeatedly seen with a severe and bloody gunshot wound on the side of his face, and the spontaneous mass shooting of many Nazi soldiers by Allied troops. A blood-covered woman is seen with her murdered children at her feet. Children who have been drowned by a parent are depicted floating in water. Staff members at a mental institution physically restrain patients who are housed there. Some of these patients have injuries or other disfigurements and exhibit severe mental distress. Obscured frontal male nudity is briefly seen. Two occasions of explicit sexual dialog and a couple of other sexual references are heard. At least 18 sexual expletives along with other profanities and terms of deity are used. Smoking and social drinking (along with a scene where a man drinks to relieve stress) are depicted.