The shower scene in the Movie "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock is an assault the audience's senses in many ways. It has been purposely created this way by the writer to provide an unsettling and surprising experience for the audience as part of the plot. Using effects such as camera angles, lighting and shadow and music, Hitchcock has surely created a very moving and violent scene which turns the plot upside down. .
The use of mixed camera angles adds to the element of surprise in the particular scene where a shower is followed by murder. At first, the camera angels are used to focus on Marion Crane and shower - related focus points such as the shower head, the drain, the wall and Marion and the water in particular. These angles help to emphasise the idea of Marion showering and help to express her need to clean herself and to get ready for some needed rest. As the plot thickens, we (the audience) are given a view of the door of the bathroom through the shower curtain while still keeping in mind that Marion is showering. The view of the door indicates and suggests possible trouble with the obvious idea of an intruder coming into mind. Perhaps at this point not to our surprise an intruder does enter and from here on we are subject to violent scenes at various angles. The loss of a key character is emphasised as a close up of Marion's body hitting the floor after a final struggle is recorded and as we are given a view of the body from perhaps right beside it, on the floor. Importantly, at the end of the murder, again we are shown similar angles of the water, the drain and the bath, except this time with an important difference. The angles remain the same but the water is coloured red due to the presence of blood. Hitchcock has purposely created this "contrast" to help emphasise the shift from peace to violence. .
Lighting effects are used effectively in the scene and are paramount to the success of the scene as being "unsettling" or "disturbing.
Marion now goes into the shower. ... Marion gets into the shower. ... The slow shots were not accelerated later on because they were inserted in the montage so as to give an impression of normal speed" (qtd. in Psycho, the shower). Marion appears to be cleansed by the shower. ... Hitchcock, according to Psycho, the shower "wanted only the sound of the shower and, by the way, Marion's scream" (qtd. in Psycho, the shower). ...
This in itself brings a marked difference between Psycho and Scream. ... Take, for example, the famous shower scene. ... Scream has replaced a high proportion of the implied violence of Psycho with graphic violence. ... This theme is continued by means of the character Randy, who discusses extensively the conventions of the horror movie as the characters watch Halloween. ... Therefore, when the camera is used in the voyeuristic way that it is during the shower scene, it instantly becomes amore powerful tool by contrast. ...
Psycho The notion of watching and being watched treads predominantly in the film Psycho as Hitchcock painstakingly employs various film techniques to heighten the voyeuristic effect, especially that on the film audiences. ... Hence, the theme of guilt emerges; the audiences feel a prick in their conscience as they behold the secret meeting between the two lovers. ... The sense of guilt generated by Bate's peeping is significant here as it awakens the "mother" within him; the ignition of her jealously is the main instigating element of the perturbing shower murder moments after. ... H...
Comparison of Psycho and The Usual Suspects Psycho opens up with the caption "Phoenix, Arizona Friday, December the Eleventh Two Forty Three PM."" ... Alfred Hitchcock directed psycho. ... The setup involves a theme about the guilt of an ordinary person trapped in a criminal situation. ... Marion was stabbed to death in the shower by a mysterious female figure. ... There are several things that stand out in the shower scene, the movie never shows the knife striking flesh or any wounds. ...
Is it possible for a person to be an accessory after the fact to a crime that was committed twenty-four years before they were born? This is one of the questions that the film "Apt Pupil" asks. But, the film does more than this. It is a thought-provoking film which demonstrates the potential for evi...
