The thriller film Psycho contains the infamous shower scene in which a young woman is murdered in the shower, in a motel bathroom. The scene opens up with the woman walking into the bathroom and throwing some paper into the toilet, which creates a sense of mystery, as we are not directly told what the contents of the paper are. The scene continues quite slowly as she gets undressed and steps into the clinically white and clean shower, a safe, private place which is very personal.
The first shot in the shower is this Point of View shot looking up at the shower head. The showerhead is central in this shot and the water has been captured to spread out and surround the camera. This helps to add to the sense of vulnerability of the scene as the woman is completely exposed and is cleaning herself, an act which is normally undertaken in complete privacy, and symbolises the idea of purity. The clinically white like bathroom, contrasts heavily to the dark, badly lit motel room she stepped out moments ago. With its sharp white light, the bathroom is given a harsh, unwelcoming feel which gives the audience the impression that the woman is completely isolated, alone and vulnerable. This helps create tension in the scene as the audience is in the dark about what will happen next. The only audio present at this point is the sound of the water running, which seems to drag on, giving this section of the scene a surreal and slightly abnormal feel.
The scene moves on and for a long time the woman is just shown washing herself. However after a short time this shot appears, and as she still is showering the camera slowly pans to the left to reveal an obscured shape of a mysterious figure appear behind the patterned see-through shower curtain. The pan helps to add suspense and tension to the scene as the shape moving behind the curtain is intruding, menacingly, upon the privacy on this woman. The setting (clean white etc) gives us the impression that the woman is isolated and lonely, which suggests she is vulnerable. Her lack of clothing also gives us the impression that she is vulnerable and exposed, which helps to add a feeling of terror to the audience who know that the oblivious woman is is danger. The running water is constantly running, which helps to build atmosphere and further tension. The golden mean runs through this shot, drawing attention to the shape behind the curtain and the vulnerable victim.
The curtain is suddenly drawn back to reveal a mysterious, threatening figure, standing poised to murder. The figure’s face is darkened to add a secretive element that leaves the audience hanging with questions. This gives the scene a very dark theme, as a murderous figure has invaded the privacy of the woman, and what was once seen as a pure place of cleanliness has been tainted by a dark, gritty, dirty murder. The importance of the water in this shot is great, as not only does it hide the face of the attacker but also contrasts to the appearance of the scruffy, quite dirty attacker. The dramatic sound of the shower curtain being pulled back sets up this close up shot in which the golden mean rule is applied, drawing attention to the knife, and the darkness that hides the face. The clothing worn by the killer, is like an old nightgown and the hair is obviously a wig, which adds to the psychopathic feeling of the film.
As the murder takes place a very distinguished soundtrack piece is played over the top to signify the brutality and chaos of the murder. The dramatic cutaway to the chaotic, stormy weather helps to draw parallels between the murder and the uncontrolled weather. The sound of the water is still present through this shot as digetic sound from the shower scene continues with thunder added along with the music as non digetic music. The shot of the clouds is done in timelapse, which gives the impression that her life is reaching a brutal end and after she dies in this degrading way, life will still go on. The Dark clouds help to link the cutaway with the darkness of the killing in the contrasting white bathroom.
This final close up of the plug symbolises the woman’s life draining away. At this point the only sound is the water swirling down the plug hole which helps to tie into the idea of the woman’s life draining away. The circular shape of the drain is a visual match to the two shots of the eye, and all of these shots link together to show how helpless the woman was, and that even though she is dead, the water will keep running and life will continue. The use of the blood in the water helps to add to the horror of the scene, and helps to sum up the overall brutality of the movie.
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