Analysis of Psycho (Shower Scene)

Analysing horror film (psycho / the shower scene)

Beginning of the scene
At the beginning of the scene slow paced editing has been used showing Marion in her bedroom and a tracking shot has been used to follow her action. The camera slowly follows her and at this stage no editing has been added to scene, the only editing which has been used is the cut and this has been used when she flushes the toilette, a close up shot is used when she puts the ripping paper into the toilette and this is important because this reminds us of what she did to the paper that she ripped in the bedroom and also this shows that the paper contains some secret information that she doesn’t want anyone to see it which creates tension and horror because the paper might contain some secret information and if someone sees it then she will be in trouble, this grabs audience attention and make them raise questions about why the papers were so important to her. We don’t see anyone else in the room and we actually don’t see her doing that much and this shows that she is alone and not that much going on her life.

When Marion is having shower
Cut is used as a part of editing when Marion’s dressing gown falling on the floor. A cut is used to show her legs, and another cut is used to show her face and shoulders. Even though she is in the bathroom which is a private place we don’t see her full naked body which suggests modesty and shyness.

Different camera angles are used when Marion is having a shower and this shows her from different angles, for example when Marion is having a shower a close up shot and a point of view shot are used to show the shower head and also to show what Marion is seeing and these camera shots put audience into Marion’s position and this makes audience feel that they are a part of the experience. The close up which has been used to show the shower head creates a small space and the water which comes out of the shower covers all of Marion’s body so it is like she is trapped under the water this creates sense of suspense because it makes audience feel as though Marion is trapped or someone is trying to get her.

For a while everything is going normally and smoothly and this has been shown by the slow paced editing which has been used to create a relaxing and calm mood.

When the murderer comes into the bathroom
Suddenly the mood changes when someone (murderer) comes into the bathroom. At this stage everything is going fast and unexpected because we first saw no body in the room but now suddenly someone just came into the bathroom. The murderer starts stabbing Marion. We don’t see the murderer’s face and we don’t know why she is killing Marion. The murderer’s face is not shown and this has been left out of the seen as part of editing. This is effective because it makes the film more horrific because it left the story as a mystery, it left viewers to think about why someone would kill her and makes audience ask questions about the incident and also it makes them watch the whole film to find out who is the murderer.

Fast paced editing is used to show different parts of Marion’s body to show how she gets stabbed. The fast paced editing makes the film/ scene more shocking and terrific. A close up shot is used to show Marion’s face and mouth, this shows her reaction and also it make audience feel sympathy and sorry for her

Marion is not protecting herself or fighting back and we see that by the way camera and editing techniques has been used. At this point lots of close up shots has been used on Marion’s mouth and this show her confusion and weaknesses. The close up shot on her mouth makes audience feel confused and uncomfortable and it puts them in Marion’s position because the close up shot on her mouth makes us feel weak and trapped as there is nothing we can do about the incident and it forces us to focus on her scream of terror also it shows Marion is trapped and she can’t do anything about the incident as well.

The murderer
While the murderer is stabbing Marion, two different camera shots have been used. One of them is medium shot and this shot has been used to show the murderer’s figure and helps audience to identify whether the murderer is female or male and this is effective because it gives us a clue about who is the murderer. The other camera shot which has been used is point of view shot, this camera shot shows what Marion is seeing. Even though point of view shot has been used we are still unclear about who is the murderer because we don’t see the murderer’s face and this can have two meanings (effects). One of them could be that Marion is confused, shocked and hurt and she might not concentrate on who is the murderer or the director my not want to show the murderer’s face to make the film more effective. The murder’s face has been left out of the scene as part of editing, they’re shown a shadow of someone raised arm holding a knife this makes us feel confuse and horrified.

Connotation and denotation
Dissolve is used to show the water getting ride of the blood. The connotation is the blood which is getting removed by the water in the bath. But the denotation is that the blood is like an evidence of Marion is being murdered by someone, but the water is getting ride of the blood just like how Marion is life has ended. That means that the blood which has been removed by the water from the bath has been compared to Marion’s life (Marion is dead and the blood is gone from the bath so there is no evidence or sign of her being killed.)

End of the scene
Slow pan has been used at the end of the scene. It has been used to take audience away from the bathroom to explain that the incident has ended and a tracking shot has used to take us away from the bathroom to the bedroom and this has been added to the atmosphere of tension. The camera zooms in to the newspaper on the table in the bedroom, this proves the newspaper or what is in the newspaper is got something to do with the incident or the newspaper might have caused Marion’s death.

Sound
Diegitic and non-diegitic sound has been used in the scene. At the beginning of the scene when Marion is ripping the paper we can actually hear the paper being ripped and this is a diegitic sound because the character can hear it too this is effective because it draws audience into the film and makes them feel as though they are in the room with Marion . We can hear the flushing toilette as well, the reason for that is because these diegitic sound make the story more realistic and it feels like we are in the room with the character and we are aware of every action which is has been taken in the room. Also non- diegitic sound has been added to the scene such as slow and calm music, the music has been added to the scene at the beginning and it creates a relaxing and quiet mood this shows that everything is going normal. However the mood changes when the murderer comes into the bathroom because they have added a very fast and horrific music to the scene to show that the mood is changing and also to create a scary and panicky mood.

The scene is over powered by the water running in the bathroom and this confirms that the water is something important in the scene because when Marion got killed by the murderer the water got ride of the blood to left no sign or evidence of Marion being killed in the bathroom.