Psycho (1960) image analysis - 1

This scene from Psycho demonstrates the height of the action as we see the murderer’s shadow on Marion’s shower curtain gradually getting closer. The expressionist low angle shot shows the murderer towering over Marion as he attempts to stab her; this conveys the idea that Marion is a weak, powerless character as she slides further down the wall.

Throughout this scene, the pace of the action dramatically changes from a slow montage to a quick montage as the audience witness Marion go from preparing for her shower to being brutally murdered. For example, the audience see Marion put her book away and remove her clothes at a calm, slow pace. However, when Marion sees the murderer the pace increases as the time between shots gets shorter and shorter in order to allow the audience to feel more of emotional response. These conventions used in the film represent Alfred Hitchcock’s style of films; this relates to Andrew Sarris’ “Auteur theory” set out in his essay “Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962”. For example, Hitchcock revolutionised the importance of audience manipulation which was portrayed by through his use of montage. Hitchcock became renowned for his ability to create suspense as demonstrated not only in Psycho, but in the majority of all his films.

Although the audience are witnessing Marion’s murder, the sequence of shots never show the knife entering Marion’s body; this is a form of Restricted Narration that allows the audience to use their imagination an interpret the horrific ordeal in their own way which can have more of an emotional impact. In conjunction with this parallel, non-diegetic music of screeching violins is used to emphasize the drama and again, have more of an emotional impact on the audience that aims to leave them shocked and horrified.

The final part of this scene shows a close up shot of the plughole as Marion’s blood washes down it. This connotes the idea that Marion’s life has been washed away after her murder. The use of body horror and montage in this scene allows the audience to easily identify the film by its horror genre. The majority of audience members enjoy the film for this particular scene which can relate to Thomas Schatz’s “Genre Theory”; by sticking to horror conventions, audience members that enjoy this particular genre will still appreciate the aspects of this scene even if they don’t have any knowledge of Hitchcock’s individual auteur style present throughout the film.