Psycho shower scene

So I’ve recently watched the film called 'Psycho' which has very many good scenes and film elements. Psycho is a thriller movie and got me feeling part of the movie. This is what i think makes a really good movie. One scene that I thought that was probably the best scene, media wise and also as a general viewer, was 'the shower scene'. Here is the link; (psycho shower scene) .The scene as a whole is simply awesome, down to the last frame. In this short analysis I am going to only analyse three of the hundreds of frames there are to give you a feel of how good this scene is.

The first frame I have chosen is when the shower is turned on. This is one of the most significant parts of the scene. As there is no one in this shot, we can infer this is a point of view shot from the women underneath it, an effective shot pointing out the view of where the figure is looking. This signifies that the women is distracted by the shower, giving a sense of innocence and is oblivious to what is going on around her. This is a clear convention of a thriller, showing a character is unaware of what is about to happen, creating tension and suspense. We could even infer that the woman in the shower is kind of relaxed as she is confident to be naked. Her being naked also adds to the effect of when the attack happens as there is nothing between the blade and her skin, this gives an effect of venerability and weakness to the naked women. The low angle shot of the camera also represents this and adds to the effect of the weakness of her (another thriller convention, one person showing dominance of another). The only sound in this one part is the shower (this is a diagetic sound). This simple thin sound creates a suspense waiting for something to lift you off the seat, creating tension for the viewer.

The next frame is another significant part of the scene, when the murderer pulls the shower curtain and produces and knife held ready to attack. This is a close up of the murder and a level view to catch you off guard. As you can see even though this is a close up, the face has been blurred by the shower that is the women is innocently showering in, this blurred face gives you a sense off mystery (a convention of a thriller). As this figures face is hidden our attention as the viewer is directly going to the weapon, the knife. We infer this is the killer going to harm someone. The knife, in this frame, is pretty much the only focused point in this scene, giving it emphasis and it shows the knife to have a lot of power. Also the angle of the blade in relation to the camera shows dominance as nothing can help that the blade will harm the women, the lighting also draws your attention I with a reflection off the blade. This frame is also on a golden mean (points on one diagonal line). At this very point non-diagetic sounds come in/ music to emphasize the dramatic scene of the murder.

The last frame I’m going to analyse is when the women, after the stabbing, struggles to keep herself up so clutches on the shower curtain for the last struggle before she falls on the floor. We infer just before she is dead. The close up of the hand shows the red nail varnish, a motif of death blood etc. ironic. This colour and the sense of struggle and desperation are all conventions of a thriller therefore being a key part of the scene. The hand is the key part of this frame; the most focused emphasising the struggle of the grip of the shower curtain.

Watch it for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdAJrEgsU70