Psycho Shower Scene Analysis

The scene begins with Marion Crane (Anne Heche) stepping into the bathroom and she then appears to be disposing of some important documents. This shows us that she is a suspect character and is potentially up to no good.

The camera is then at mid-shot on her feet, showing us she is entering the shower, this shows the audience that she is about to meet her end, as most will have seen the original film. This gives the audience a knowledge not possessed by the characters, inducing a sense of foreboding within them.  The close up nature of most of the shots of Marion inside the shower creates a sense of claustrophobia.

Many of the shots inside the shower are POV shots (point of view) through Marion’s eyes, some of which are focused on the shower head, showing us she is ignorant of anything beyond the shower curtain.

In this scene, the angle switches to mid-shot, with Marion in front of the curtain with the silhouette entering the room and moving slowly towards her. The way that the killer is presented in silhouette dehumanises them, adding an extra layer of menace. The slow walk towards Marion shows a calm and collected mindset that the audience finds un-nerving.

It switches to a close-up, POV of this new character, the murderer who we deduced to be a woman because of the finger nails and hair, swiping the shower curtain aside. Then a close up reaction shot is centred on Marion’s face, whilst shaking, showing the despair and panic behind the shower curtain. Brandishing a knife posed to strike, the killer plunges the knife forward towards the victim; all the while the camera is following the knife into and out of Marion’s chest.

During this scene there are about 40 shots, which quickens the pace and it shows the audience what’s happening without using one long shot. Followed by a high angle shot, showing the struggle between the two and the small space in which Marion has to defend herself. Because of these camera angles, we do not see any intense violence, just the after effects of it (blood and Marion sliding to the bottom of the bath tub), these are some of the shots used in Hitchcock’s classic.  

Shots of a storm with clashes of thunder and rain, this builds an atmosphere of violence and evil, or it could show the cleansing of the thief (Marion) in the bathroom.

As the killer vanishes into the distance of the next room beyond the bathroom, Marion tries to stable herself by grabbing anything within her reach, as a close up shot shows when she clutches on to the curtain trying to somehow clutch back on to life. As she drops, the camera focuses on the curtain hooks snapping off the rail, this could be showing her life slowly fade away, as she falls from the bath tub onto the bathroom floor.

A close up shot on the blood draining down the plug dissolves into a shot of Marion’s pupil; all the while the camera is spinning 360 degrees and moving away from her face. This is to shows us that not only the blood is draining, but Marion’s life is fading aswell.

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