Word
Analysis for Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho
Alfred
Hitchcock’s film ‘Psycho’ features many mystery and thriller aspects especially in the shower scene
shown in this clip. The female character Marion is shown first thing in this
scene with no music
and bright lights
shining which gives off the impression that this isn’t an eerie scene but there
may be a sudden switch as something may happen. The camera then moves to a medium close-up of Marion
as she begins to take her shower which shows her facial expressions, looking very relaxed and
satisfied, but the scene continues to feature no music only the sound of the water which
intensifies the scene. She can be seen visibly enjoying the shower but great
suspense is immediately added when the camera angle allows us to see the bathroom door
open revealing a dark figure that slowly moves towards the shower. The lighting covers the
figures face which is purposely done to create more suspense and mystery which
adds to the terror (action
and enigma) in this scene, the shower curtain also works as a cover up
for the figure as it also blurs out its whole figure so we cannot even see if
it’s a male or female. The figure then rapidly pulls open the shower curtain
and with this dramatic music then starts to play intensifying the scene
instantaneously. This shocks the audience and adds a horror element. We then see a close up Marion
face as she screams with a petrified look on her face which is a huge contrast
to the start where she is very relaxed. There is then an extreme close up on her
mouth as which is wide open as she is crying out for help. The music replicates the movement of the
knife which makes the audience
feel even tenser as they have to sit through and watch as the man continuously
attacks the defenceless woman. We are then shown a close up of the shower floor as we see Marion’s
legs twitching and blood fall into the water as she is menacingly stabbed with
the knife without any remorse. We then see the figure leave the bathroom and
with this the music begins to tone down and we can hear Marion’s heavy breaths,
moving on we are then shown a close up of the Marion’s lifeless hands as they
slide down the bathroom wall, we are then shown a medium close up of Marion’s lifeless body sliding
down slowly giving the audience time to grasp what had just occurred as it was
very fast paced. We
are then shown Marion trying to cling onto the shower curtain which represents
her maybe trying to cling onto her last bit of life but this does not help her
as the curtain breaks and she falls onto the floor with her lifeless body and
blood still flowing through the water and down the drain as Marion lays there
dead which gives off an extremely unnerving feeling. The fact that the scene ends and we are
still left with no explanation as to who the mysterious killer is as well as
the continuous stabbing adds to the element of action and enigma codes. Going back to the beginning of the clip the
bathroom walls are plain white which connotes to innocence and purity. The fact
that she is naked in this scene adds to the fact that she has made herself
extremely defenceless and can be harmed without any problems. The showerhead is
the only thing we can hear at the start and by having the camera as close as it
is it brings intimacy into the scene as it gives us the feeling that we are
there with her but that also makes us as vulnerable as her which adds to making
us feel terrified as we are watching the scene. The malicious music is called ‘The
Murder’ which relates excellently to the scene. With each note played of the
music we can see the image of the knife plunging into Marions’ flesh as we
don’t actually see the knife actually go into Marion as the shot always cuts
but we construct the scene in our head well allowing us to see what is not
shown by Hitchcock. When the killer faces
Marion the music becomes very frantic which captures the true pain of Marion as
she is stabbed. The edits
in this scene are
very important as when she is being attacked there are short cuts showing
details of her reaction which makes the scene more horrifying and sickening to
watch.
