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Psycho: The Shower Scene
This is an deep description of the Shower Scene in the original film “Psycho”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Marion takes off her blouse and steps over the bath edge into the shower.
Marion pulls the shower curtain across.
She turns the shower on and seems happy and relieved to be under it.
Marion begins to wash herself with her hands.
The camera shows Marion showering on the right of screen with lots of space of the left making the viewer think someone is about to walk in to the background behind the shower curtain.
The Camera zooms into the shadow of the old woman materializes on the shower curtain as she walks through the bathroom door.
(The violins begin and continue to end)
The old woman rips aside the curtain with a huge knife raised above her head.
There are no details seen of the old woman. Just the dark old woman holding a knife up.
Marion turns and screams. There is a close up on Marion’s face and an extreme close up on Marion’s mouth as she screams.
The old woman stabs Marion. Marion turns away from the old woman.
(The stabbing is heard)
Repeated shots of the old woman are shown during the stabbing. All show no detail of the woman.
Marion tries to defend herself by grabbing the old woman’s arm.
The woman stabs her again and again.
(The stabbing is heard)
Blood pours onto the bathtub.
The silence of Marion’s dying face.
The old woman runs out of the bathroom.
Close up on Marion’s hand shows her trying to get a grip on the bathroom wall.
Mary falls against the bathroom wall and slides down.
Marion turns around, reaches out to grasp the shower curtain and rips it down falling down with it. There is a close up on Marion’s hand as she grabs the shower curtain. As she reaches out for the shower curtain it seems like Marion is reaching out for help from the viewer.
Marion lies dead over the bath edge.
(The sound of water going down the drain)
The shower is shown still running.
Marion’s legs are shown in the bath with blood around them.
Cross fading from water spin down the drain hole to Marion’s spinning eye.
The camera spins out from the extreme close up of Marion’s eye to Marion with her face flattened on the bathroom floor.
The shower is once again shown still running.
A close up of Marion’s face on the ground. The camera moves from here past the toilet seat with Marion’s blouse on it, to the door.
Through out this scene Alfred Hitchcock is trying to achieve a thrilling and horrible scene making the viewer jump out of there seat. This scene from the smallest detail of lighting and camera positioning was achieved to freak the viewer. I believe the most unnerving and still freaky today part of this scene is the cross fading and spinning out of the camera from the drain to Marion’s eye to Marion lying face down on the ground. The running water at the end of the scene in also very unnerving.
