Psycho - the Shower theme

            The shower scene in the Movie "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock is an assault the audience's senses in many ways. It has been purposely created this way by the writer to provide an unsettling and surprising experience for the audience as part of the plot. Using effects such as camera angles, lighting and shadow and music, Hitchcock has surely created a very moving and violent scene which turns the plot upside down. .
             The use of mixed camera angles adds to the element of surprise in the particular scene where a shower is followed by murder. At first, the camera angels are used to focus on Marion Crane and shower - related focus points such as the shower head, the drain, the wall and Marion and the water in particular. These angles help to emphasise the idea of Marion showering and help to express her need to clean herself and to get ready for some needed rest. As the plot thickens, we (the audience) are given a view of the door of the bathroom through the shower curtain while still keeping in mind that Marion is showering. The view of the door indicates and suggests possible trouble with the obvious idea of an intruder coming into mind. Perhaps at this point not to our surprise an intruder does enter and from here on we are subject to violent scenes at various angles. The loss of a key character is emphasised as a close up of Marion's body hitting the floor after a final struggle is recorded and as we are given a view of the body from perhaps right beside it, on the floor. Importantly, at the end of the murder, again we are shown similar angles of the water, the drain and the bath, except this time with an important difference. The angles remain the same but the water is coloured red due to the presence of blood. Hitchcock has purposely created this "contrast" to help emphasise the shift from peace to violence. .
             Lighting effects are used effectively in the scene and are paramount to the success of the scene as being "unsettling" or "disturbing.