Psycho fits perfectly under the thriller genre for a variety of reasons. I will attempt to break down and explain what techniques have been used, where they have been applied and most importantly explain what effects they give off.
The shot above is one of the key moments in the shower scene as it helps to build up tension before the inevitable. The camera is placed inside the shower and pans across enough to see a shady figure in the doorway whilst maintaining our view of the victim. This is great as it clearly shows that the victim is unaware that there is another presence in the room however due to the shower curtain the attackers’ identity is uncertain creating an eerie sense of mystery simultaneously creating tension for the audience. The shower curtain is a nice element of this scene and is vital to creating the tension behind it.
This shot is perhaps the best shot of the killer we get. The light is coming from the upper right emphasising both the knife and the female attacker whilst keeping her face shrouded in shadows. This allows us to get a close up of the attacker without revealing their identity thus adding to the tension. It is clear by the attackers body language that she is about to strike without mercy which lets the audience know that there is going to be death which adds a terrifying aspect to the scene. The size and build of the knife suggests that this will be a particularly brutal and gruesome death however still maintains its realistic qualities because it’s still an easily attainable everyday household item.
This is an extreme close up of the victim, is shows her screaming as she first sees the attacker and the knife. The camera zooms in emphasising the terror of the situation as well as the fear which gives of a strong message to the audience, telling them it’s nearly the end. The use of the victims scream is a good non-diegetic sound that helps create dramatic tension in this scene, combined with the close up it creates a great sense of horror and anguish for the audience.
This is a nice close up shot of the victims eye once the attack had finished, her pupils dilate, which suggests her life draining away from her which is a nice technique to use in the circumstance as it works really well… following this is a shot of the plug hole in the shower.
This extreme close up shot of the blood rich water is in direct correlation between the shot of the eye because it symbolises her life draining away as well, and used together proved to be a tense, dramatic and unique idea that helps represent the brutality and savageness of the killing.
The final shot of the victim’s lifeless corpse left without dignity on the bathroom floor. For this the camera decreases in pace to emphasis that the attack is over and that she is dead where as before, prior the attack the camera consisted mostly of straight cutting suggesting all is normal and then during the attack, quick, dramatic shots are shown causing a sense of panic and chaos. This is something “Psycho” has done well during the scene as it makes it easy for the audience to follow, also despite breaking the 180 degree rule; the scene is still shot well enough to avoid confusion and ends up getting some nice effect shots in the process.
