Ronan Roux

How is cinematography used to create atmosphere in the shower scene of ‘Psycho’?

This scene is typical of the thriller genre as it uses many conventions that are associated with thriller movies. The scene has a victim, a young, vulnerable woman, and the killer whose identity is still a mystery at this point.

The scene uses a variety of different shot types. It includes roughly 30-40 shots and uses a variety of camera shots including close-ups, extreme close-ups, mid-shots and long shots. Close-up shots are mainly used to show detailed expressions and are combined with quick edits to show ferocity and the chaos of the attack. Some of the camera angles that are used are high-angles from the shower head, still shots when looking at the woman in the shower and another high angle when looking at the dead body. These are effective as it shows enough detail to see the expression of fear on the woman’s face and the mid-shots are used to show how brutal the attack is. Extreme Close-Ups are also used effectively throughout the scene, such as an extreme close up of the woman’s mouth when she screams. Here, the shot emphasises the terror and shock that the victim is feeling as it dramatically zooms in on her scream. Tracking shots are used at the beginning of the scene, from the bedroom to the bathroom, and at the end of the scene, from the bathroom to the bedroom. This type of shot is effective, especially at the end as it pans across to show the devastation and brutality of the murder, as what was once a clean, pristine bathroom has now been covered in blood. This could also be symbolic as the bathroom could represent how something so clean and innocent could be ruined. There is a slight pan of the camera before the murder takes place of the woman in the shower to the shower curtain, which gives us just enough time to see the killer creeping up towards the shower, knife in hand, so that he can make the audience jump when he rips the shower curtain open. After the murder, there is a slow zoom out in a rotation from the victim’s eye, which graphically matches the shot before of a plug hole draining the blood and water. This, again, is symbolic as her life is quite literally draining away, just like the water.

In terms of composition, the scene is purposefully kept plain and simple, with a small amount of props used, so that the audience can really focus on the attack as opposed to something else in the scene. Props that are used include the victim’s clothes on the toilet seat, the shower curtain and the knife in the killer’s hand. The victim takes off her clothes before getting in the shower, which could be symbolic of her making herself vulnerable by removing her clothes and exposing herself. In terms of framing, during the attack there are quick edits of mid-shots from the killer’s perspective and the victim’s perspective. This is effective as it speeds up the pace of the scene which, in turn, makes the audience feel a similar sense of fear and general discomfort as they can’t quite catch up with each shot before it changes again.

Ronan Roux

The scene has a slow pace at the start which is effective in building up tension as it keeps the audience stuck in anticipation as to what is going to happen. The pace then speeds up as the attack starts to reflect the ferocity and brutality of the murder. The attack is in a montage format to cram all the action and emotion in that scene into a short space of time. There is also use of a dissolve cut from the draining plug hole to the victim’s eye. Usually, a dissolve cut is used to show a passing of time but here it is used to show a passing of one’s life. There is also a shot of the victim grabbing onto the shower curtain, before dying and pulling the shower curtain down with her. This could be symbolic as her extended arm and hand could represent her reaching out and trying to grasp onto life but then she fails and rips the shower curtain down which could represent her failure in holding onto life.

The scene also uses sound interestingly through a use of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Examples of diegetic sound include the footsteps of the woman, the sound of paper tearing before she gets into the bathroom and the sound of running water. Examples of non-diegetic sound include the sounds of the stabbings and the woman’s scream which has been made louder to emphasise it.