Psycho shower scene analysis

Psycho shower scene analysis

This is the shower scene that i am going to be analysing(ignore the last few seconds of the clip).  



The original psycho was made in 1960 by Alfred Hitchcock then it was remade in 1998 by Gus Van Sant in the United States. In the 1998 version they use different shots to create emotion and to generally capture the audience’s attention to pull off a successful horror film. 

The use of high shots in this scene creates the sense of the women character is small, weak and that something is going to happen, for example when she is first getting in the shower it’s like she is entering a cage of some sort which makes the audience think that something is going to happen to the women. They use this shot to make her seem helpless, venerable and small but it also means you can see some of her surroundings. The audience knows that something is going to happen as the shot is making the audience see the women as how the killer sees her which is small etc… The next camera shot is mid shot of the women in the right hand side and then it zooms in on the curtain behind her as while she is oblivious washing herself a figure walks in but it is blurred by the curtain to create mystery as it hides the identity of the murder so the suspense rises. They use a close up of the water running when the curtain is pulled away to show the point of view of the women as she is under the water she can only see the outline of the murder. This creates even more mystery and suspense and it is an unusual shot. In the scene there is a cut away shot from the women being stabbed to black storm clouds it’s because the weather shows emotion which is called pathetic fallacy; it’s used to create tension and to show how the weather can symbolize something happening, it’s an emotional representation of the connection between the weather, the women and the audience as its to make them feel uncomfortable. Using a high shot to both show the action and to show how the main character is isolated and defenceless plus no one can hear her. It also shows how the blood is spread out as it drips onto the shower floor as it’s to show the amount of blood as well. When the camera does a zooming out spinning canted shot of the women it symbolizes the water going down the drain like her life is draining away, this shot has continuity. There is a graphic match between the plug hole and the eye as they are both close ups and both symbolize each other, they use this to show the draining of life from both her eyes and down the plug. 

The editing in this film is a mix of fast pace editing to show emotion and to create a sense of tension and suspense. They use jump and straight cuts as well as fast pace building editing which occurs when the women is getting stabbed and then it slows down as the women dies, the slowing editing is like the slowing of her heart as she dies then stops when she’s dead. The editing in this film creates the tension but also keeps the film flowing smoothly; it meets the typical conventions of a horror. It keeps the audience on edge as it doesn’t give everything away it keeps something’s hidden to the audience to create suspicion. The editing keeps continuity of the scene so it flows, all the different shots from high to close up all fit together and look right when they are played. 

The sound in this scene uses diegetic and non- diegetic sound are used to create the different emotions in the scene. Combined with the different shot angles it creates the tension, mystery and suspense that a thriller normally contains. When the women first steps into the shower you hear the shower being turned on with a squeak then the water, it’s like she has tuned out all other sounds and that no one can hear her because of the running water, so she is alone, isolated and vulnerable. The music doesn’t start till the mystery killer come into the room as it slowly builds then it suddenly goes loud and fast but then goes quiet so you can hear the shower and the running water as it goes down the plug. They make the music quiet to hear the water going down the plug to symbolize her dying but also the isolation because of the water. The music always sets the scene its mystery, suspense and horror; it plays and intensifies people’s emotions so they connect with either characters or the film. They also put her scream in the scene so you can see and hear her reaction. 

The Mise en scene the scene is the most important as it needs these elements to pull off a successful scene and film overall. For example the framing in this scene are based around the shower and the characters like the shower curtain, the shower head, the women and the killer etc… this is because they are the focus of the scene and the rest of the environment isn’t important or needed. The shot of the plug hole and the blood, is framed to be the centre of the shot and to only show the plug and some of the blood filled water going down it as it is important and symbolizes the women’s eye as in the next shot it is a close up of her eye. The lighting in this scene is bright to show the brilliant white of the bathroom but it also shows the women so you can see the details of what she is doing better it’s like so you can’t miss anything. But then the lighting is used to create mystery in this scene as when the killer comes in the light comes from behind the killer so you can only see the outline and simple features like height and hair and clothes even though they are blurred you can still sort of see them, but this creates mystery as it hide the identity of the killer. As the camera tracks out of the room into a different the lighting changes as it becomes dimmer but not to dim as you can still see the newspaper when it is focused on. The props in the scene are the knife and the newspaper. The knife is very important as it’s the murder weapon, its focused on straight away because it’s from her point of view so because of her fear she only sees the knife and not the killer. The knife symbolize to cut away life and to die slowly, it’s a bloody goory way to die but because of the point of view it puts the audience in the women’s position so with the camera shot, the prop, the lighting and music it makes the audience uncomfortable and scared. The paper is focused on after she is dead to show where and when the women was killed which could have been left by the killer like some sort of sign or symbol that’s significant to people that they know it’s a certain killer. The actors in the scene are significant as the woman is pale which shows the blood more easily so you can see where the wounds are better. The killer has a basic profile that is seen which is messy hair and clothes which makes her look crazy.  The set is simple in the scene as it’s a bathroom in a hotel to show isolation and the white to contrast to the blood easier. The shot of the hotel with creepy lighting and gloomy music with no other buildings around shows even more isolation.

To conclude the film psycho is made to both scare and interest the audience by using the many different conventions of a typical horror film. I think using all the components that this film has used from lighting to the actors makes the emotional and psychological part of the audiences minds make the film as successful at it is.

Close up of women in the shower.    

This is a close of the main character of this scene. The camera is on her so you can see what she is doing and also her reaction. It is well lit so you can clearly see the important features of the women and the surroundings. The curtain is blurred so you cannot see anything behind it which creates mystery. The water going across the shot makes the location known. But the close up shows her face which is oblivious to what’s going to happen. Is you drew a diagonal line through the picture you would see the main points of the shot are the women and the water this is called the golden mean.  

Mid shot of the killer walking up to the shower.

This shot is of the killer and the women. It’s a mid-shot which pans from the women to zoom into the curtain on the blurred figure. The identity is hidden to raise suspicion, tension and mystery. The lighting on the women is dimmer and the lighting behind the killer is bright but only behind them as it’s to not give away the identity of the killer as it would ruin the film. It’s also a two shot. No camera angle and is framed to see the women victim and the blurred figure. The editing is fast and smooth it makes the scene flow well. Two actors one the victim, the other the killer. We see the victim clearly and know what she looks like, but the murder is blurred to create mystery. The sounds are the music which builds slowly and the shower to show location. Her back is turned so she doesn’t know what is behind her or what is going to happen, when the audience sees the blurred figure they want to scream to her to run or to turn around, this is the emotional reaction and the reaction most people would do, therefore it creates tension.    

Extreme close up of the eye.

This shot is an extreme close up of the victims eye as she is dead. 

As the camera rotates out and zooms out as it goes this symbolizes both the water going down the plug hole which is in the shot before and to make the shot have continuity which keeps the scene going. The music at this point is at a muffled low level so you can hear the water going down the plug representing her life going down there and effectively the evidence to. The lighting is bright and shows the paleness of her skin and the vacant look in her eyes makes the audience uncomfortable, the tight framing of the shot makes the audience feel claustrophobic and want to get away but they also want to know who killed her so it gives more tension and suspense to the film.