Emma Phillips Foundation Production

Psycho is a 1960 American remake film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, of which originated from Joseph Steffano. Within the scene I have been particularly asked to focus on, the shower scene, there are many different aspects that lead to its success as film in the thriller genre, and also by fulfilling its aims to making the audience feel tense and scared.

Hitchcock uses extreme close ups of trivial objects in order to create a sense of distraction that the character is actually going through. For example, on one occasion there is a close up of the showerhead, centrally framed for mass impact and shot from a low angle point of view in order to suggest importance.

As well as this, the shower head itself is cleverly used as a motif to reflect the image of blood flowing, which of course is after the brutal murder has taken place. The fact that the murder takes place in a shower also has significant meaning, for instance, the character would have gone into the shower to cleanse herself yet, ironically, comes out having been stabbed to death. The fact that the character is naked whilst the murder takes place shows vulnerability, making her seem helpless and unable to stop anything that is about to happen.

The use of diegetic sounds, such as the water hitting the bath and the water running, all add a sense of reality to the scene; making the murder seem like an unlikely event. However, there are some non-diegetic sounds such as the background music and the knife as the character is being stabbed, both of which are used to create tension.

Special effects within the scene are not as common as they are in more modern day films, with the blood from the victim and the knife itself being the main props of special effects. Using a shower as a set for a murder allowed the red blood to stand out from the “cleansing” water and therefore allow a more dramatic effect. The lighting of the scene was done in cold colours, such as greys, whites and blacks, with little colour except the blood that flowed from the victim, adding to the poetic fallacy and once again, the impact of the vicious murder.


Edit techniques were cleverly done, with the shooting ranging from slow panning following the character around in the bathroom and then quickly swapping from shot to shot as the murder took place. The fast pace of fading in and out edits here again added to the impact of the killing, as well as the feelings of suspense the viewers would have felt.




The film Psycho itself fits into the convention of a thriller genre of film, of which focuses greatly on adding and building suspense, tension and empathy as well as by showing society as dark, corrupt and dangerous, though they often feature a happy ending in which the villains are killed or arrested.

In conclusions, Hithcock’s Psycho is a very successful thriller film, using many media features in order to ensure its success by inflicting an involuntary, hypnotic grip on its viewers.

Thriller films, literature and television generally comply to elements such as suspension and mass tension in order to engage it's reader. Sub-genres may also occur in things such as psychological thrillers, mystery and crime. Hithcock's movies are the most popular of this kind, gaining popularity mainly after the assassination of President Kennedy.

Films of the thriller genre are characterised by an atmosphere of violence, crime and often a murder, as well as showing society and the world around us as dark, shady and dangerous, however thrillers often entale a happy ending in which the culprit is either killed or arrested. Thrillers encorouge on certain literacy devices, such as red-herrings, plot twists and often finishing on cliffhangers. They also promote on certain feelings, such as a anticipation, uncertainty, anxiety and ensuring the viewer enlists on an adrenaline rush.

Some examples of films from a thriller genre are seen below;

To improve, I must;

• Not retell the story
• Be detailed in the points I put forward, using examples
• Use lots of terminology/definitions
• Identify conventions/signifiers
• Ensure my writing flows in the order as it happened on the film
• Discuss the effect of each component