Psycho 'Shower Scene' Analysis

Psycho is a murder thriller originally by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960. A more modern remake was created in 1998 by Gus Van Sant, I will be analysing this version and the stills from it.

The majority of the camera work in the shower scene of psycho is mid to close up shots, by having shots at this distance the audience can clearly see reactions, also, it gives the feelings of claustrophobia and entrapment which relates to the scene as Marion Crane cannot escape from what is about to happen to her. Secondly, the camera shots are shown from three perspectives, the first being the victims, second the killer and finally third person. This gives the audience an all round collection of shots which can show us as an audience what’s going on from all points of view. The camera is also angled at eye level to engage with the audience and give them the feeling that they are there in the situation. This is bar a few shots such as the knife which is a low angle shot to show the powerfulness of the knife and the damage it’s about to cause.

Psycho mainly consists of jump cuts and straight cuts when it comes to editing, these shots become shorter and faster with cutaways when the stabbing begins, this is to show the action is climaxing. Between the shots of the killing we see a cloud/storm shot. This is pathetic fallacy where weather represents the current mood. After Marion’s death the pace of the editing slows down to show the calmness and peace from her not having to fight back and that the action is now over. Along with fast pace editing at the climax, the audience also begin to hear a discordant violin, the non-diegetic sound is in sync with the stabbing which exaggerates tension and grabs the audience. The music then goes to minor scale at the death of Marion, the change in music represents the change from the action of Marion being stabbed to the now very stationary, lifeless body lying on the floor. Finally, a reverb on the water from the shower was applied when it went down the drain. This represents the emptiness in the room and not only water draining away but also the life being drained out of the room.

This shot shows what is first, a close up shot of Marion in the shower, washing herself, to the audience this is a sense of realism and what everyone does on a daily basis. But the camera them pans from right to left, and zooms out ever so slightly to become a mid shot, when it then becomes a still it’s composition forms the golden mean, with the two points of interest being Marion in the corner with a figure in the background. Although we cannot see who it is through the opaque shower curtain. To the audience this creates mystery as we do not know the identity. It also creates anticipation, as they see from a third person camera shot that Marion is totally oblivious, with her back turned. The at an eye level angle so that we as an audience feel on the same level and can engage with her.

In this mid shot we see Marion’s feet with blood all around her. This is a high angle shot looking down, and is from the killers point of view, this therefore also shows the killers power over her by looking down on Marion who is dying and defenceless. The framing shows the bottom of the shower and her feet, they’ve included this to show the contrast between the white bathroom and the blood. White is usually a colour which we associate with being pure and angelic and a bathroom relates to cleanliness, whereas the red blood which is seen so clearly against the bathroom is a colour of hate and anger. Moreover Marion's toe nails are also painted red, this could be to show the complete opposite side of the colour red; passion, love etc.

 

 

 This is a close up shot of the drain after Marion has been stabbed, as we can see the blood is going down the drain and this can be seen as a representation of Marion’s life now being washed away. The shot is tightly framed so all we as an audience focus on is the drain. Like any plug hole, the water (or in this case blood) swirls down in a certain angle, and from this shot we then see Marion’s eye, which also, spins out in a circular motion to show you all of her motionless body. This is called match on action.