Psycho Murder Scene Analysis

The first shot that we see is the woman turning on the shower. The camera is a close up and at head height. The shots before and after it at edited together slowly so that it give the audience time to think what is going to happen and it also helps to create tension. When she turns on the shower it is very loud, this is done to make the audience feel like they are her, as the shower would be loud for her. This is done so that you know that she can’t hear the murderer when they enter.

This next shot is a low angle shot and it shows the shower head which shows the audience her point of view. This immerses the audience into the scene and makes them feel like they are in the shower. The music at this point is very slow, which fits the speed of the cuts but it also creates tension and makes the audience think what is going to happen next.

This shot starts off as a close up of the woman and it very slowly pans over to the shower curtain and slowly starts to zoom in. This is done to build tension. When the shot zooms in you see a black shadow behind it which signifies someone else being in the bathroom. This scares the audience and they know that she won’t hear them because of how loud the shower is.

The curtain is then suddenly pulled back very quickly and loudly which scares the audience. It also changes the pace of the cuts after it, they become very fast cuts. The curtain being pulled back reveals the murderer and they are holding a big kitchen knife. This shows power and strength.

After the knife is pulled out there are seven quick straight cuts before the woman is stabbed. This is when the cuts become very quick which shows the chaos in the scene. Moreover, there are lots of angled shots in this section as it emphasizes the chaos and rage. Throughout the murder section there is very high pitched piercing music which makes the audience cringe and it is not very pleasant like the murder. It also imitates the fight.

 

This shot is a cut away to a stormy sky which is a common convention to use in thrillers to show chaos and danger. It is just a very quick and sudden cut and they do it twice. This is to emphasize the chaos without distracting the audience from the fight.

This shot shows the woman sliding down the white wall. You see the blood on the wall which shows her loss of purity and innocence. This shot and it's following shots are all edited together slowly again. This is because the fight  is over and there is a lot less chaos and rage. Furthermore, it gives the audience time to reflect on what just happened and think why.

The next shot is a high angle shot showing the woman dead on the floor. This shot shows the big gashes in her back which shows the brutality of the murder and that her innocence has gone. You can also see all of the blood on the wall and in the bath which shows that she lost a lot of blood. It also emphasizes the brutality and viciousness of the murder.

The final shot shows the plug hole and the blood running into it. There is then a graphic match to the eye of the woman on the floor which is an extreme close up. The shot is spinning away from her eye which is like the motion of the blood in the plug hole.

The bathroom in this scene was made white so it shows her innocence and purity but when she dies it is gone because it is covered in blood and no longer white. Furthermore, it emphasizes the blood on the wall and in the bath. The woman is also naked in the scene because it shows her exposure and weakness.

This is a retype of the graphic match shot.