'Shutter Island' Ending, Explained

Where to Stream:

Shutter Island

Ending Explained

'Immaculate' Ending Explained: What Happens To Sydney Sweeney's Baby?

‘The Greatest Hits’ Ending Explained: What Is the Missing Song?

'The Regime' Ending Explained: Does Kate Winslet’s Character Come Out on Top?

‘Lisa Frankenstein’ Ending Explained: Does Lisa Come Back to Life?

The fearless duo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are back in the news thanks to the release of new photos from the director’s upcoming film, Killers of the Flower Moon. The pair have been frequent collaborators, working on films like The Wolf of Wall Street, The Departed, and The Aviator. They also worked on the 2010 mystery/thriller Shutter Island, a 1950s period film with one confusing ending. Trying to get a read on what it means? We’re here to help.

Shutter Island is based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lahane, and follows Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), a U.S. Marshal investigating the masterful escape of a murderess from a fortress-like insane asylum on a remote island. His new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), attempts to alleviate the situation — but Teddy soon learns that everyone on the island, including Chuck, might be playing a game against him. Struggling to regroup and grapple with the evolving situation, Teddy tries to save himself before he can even figure out the disappearance of the patient.

Though the film was released over a decade ago, you’ll still want to steer clear of reading on if you don’t want the film to be spoiled. Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of Shutter Island:

What happens in the end of Shutter Island?

There’s a huge plot twist: Teddy isn’t actually Teddy, nor is he a U.S. Marshal. Teddy is Andrew Laeddis, a demented killer and a patient in the mental hospital he’s “investigating.” His psychiatrist has encouraged Andrew to act out his delusions. However, this fails, and Andrew returns to his psychotic state. The film ends with him being taken to be lobotomized.

As the film ends, Andrew utters a line that’s nowhere to be found in the original book. “This place makes me wonder, which would be worse,” he says. “to live as a monster or to die as a good man?”

What does the ending of Shutter Island mean?

Perhaps Andrew’s final line is merely a ramblings from a madman. Or, there’s the off-chance that he’s faking his relapse into insanity, and that the role-play as Teddy cracked him out of psychosis. Scorsese has not commented on the ending, so it’s up to viewers to decide which is the truth.