The film ‘Psycho’ was
voted as one of the top 15 scariest movies of all time, it was one of the very
first movies to use a psychological disorder in a horror genre. This movie was
seen as a very scary movie in the 1960’s as not many people were aware of some individual’s
psychological state of mind, which Alfred Hitchcock’s was able to use to his advantage.
Hitchcock misleads his
audience to create shock in Psycho. At the beginning of the film we are taken
in through the window and we see Marion and Sam in the bedroom together. This
makes us think this is a romance story, although after we see Marion steal
money from her boss, we start to doubt that the genre of the film is of crime.
However the genre is neither of the two, it is in fact a horror and the main
character Marion dies a little more than half way through the film which is
unexpected as she is the main character, and also not a bad person.
Alfred Hitchcock realizes that in order to grab the audience’s attention
straight away for the dramatic shower scene he needed the audience to feel as
though they were inside that situation, he says “the point is to draw the
audience right inside the situation instead of leaving them to watch it from
the outside, from a distance. And also you can do this only by breaking the
action into details a cutting from one to the other so that each detail is
forced, in turn, on the attention of the audience and reveals a psychological
meaning”. The scene where Marion's character is
in the shower is the film's most essential scene and is also the best known
scenes till this day, the reason it is so important s, his is the scene where
by the tension had been building up to, this is the main scene, this is where
it starts. It was shot from December 17 to December 23, 1959, and features 77
different camera angles. The scene runs 3 minutes and includes 50 cuts. Most of the shots are extreme
close-ups, except for medium shots in the shower directly before and directly
after the murder. The combination of the close shots with their short duration
makes the sequence feel more personal than it would have been if the images
were presented alone or in a wider angle, this is an example of what Alfred Hitchcock
would describe as "transferring the menace from the screen into the mind
of the audience".
Tension is a type of atmosphere
that is created by making the audience, nervous and expectant of a tragedy.
This essay will explain how camera shot and sound, help Alfred Hitchcock
complete the shower scene filled with tension. The shower scene in Psycho
shocked and horrified audiences, which resulted in some so horrified that they left
the cinema. The tension in the scene was so frightening that when the attack
does actually come you are so worked up with anticipation yet are still
disgusted by the attack made by Bates’.
The shower scene comes
into action when Marion
undresses in her room and puts on her bath robe; the fact that Alfred Hitchcock
is following her through her steps towards the bathroom creates suspense and
makes the audience wonder what is going to happen. She takes off her gown and
steps into the shower, suddenly, an anonymous figure enters the bathroom and
stabs Marion to death, it is a sudden shot that is only 3 minutes long, and
results in her death. Norman then finds the corpse, and immediately assumes
that his mother committed the murder. He cleans the bathroom and puts Marion's
body in the shower curtain and wraps it up with all her possessions, including
the money she had stolen in the back of her and sinks it in a swamp.
One of the main ways tension is
created is by making the viewer so calm and relaxed before the attack
as Marion is doing normal, everyday things, although the strange and
creepy atmosphere does make you nervous and you feel slightly on edge.
Marion enters the shower, and
the music noticeably stops, leaving just the diegetic sounds of the shower and
general noises, which creates a lot of nerve wracking tension. After turning
the water on, Marion steps into the shower and walks towards the water,
becoming calm from the gentle flow of the shower on her, this also relaxes the
audience, only for them to be shocked and become startled when a figure
appears behind Marion in the shower, there is suspense created
through the music. The
camera then slowly points towards the shadow of the person who is getting
closer and approaches Marion. The figure then swiftly draws
the curtain, and rapidly stabs and kills Marion.
One of the camera shots used well
in the shower scene to create tension is the over the shoulder shot. This is
used when Marion’s killer is creeping behind her and you can see the silhouette
of the killer through the curtain. This is a good camera shot as we know
something is going to happen but we don’t know what or who is doing it, which
creates a huge amount of tension.
Another shot that creates a lot of
tension is the close up of the knife the killer is holding to kill Marion.
This shot, which shows Marion’s killer holding the knife over his shoulder
about to stab Marion makes us rise up and worry with terror as we realise what
is going to happen. It is also at this point in the film we discover that the
real plot of the film isn’t all about Marion on the run, and she may
actually die.
Another technique used to create
tension in the shower scene is by using diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.
Diegetic sounds are sounds that you would actually hear in real life, such as
the toilet flushing and the shower running. Non-diegetic sounds are noises that
would not happen in real life, such as the music score in the background. Using
a lot of diegetic sounds in the shower scene makes the film very realistic,
which creates a lot of tension. People are often more fearful of something if
they believe what is happening could actually happen, and more essentially, it
could happen to them. Sounds such as the toilet flushing, the curtain being
drawn and most importantly the shower running create an air of realism which
makes people anxious and intimidated as these are things that they do in their
everyday lives. The fact that all the non-diegetic sounds stop once Marion
turns the shower on create an atmosphere of suspense and tension, which makes
the audience know something is going to happen but leaves us guessing. It is
often worse to watch a film when we know what is going to happen and we are
waiting for the event to happen as, although you aren’t surprised by the
incident we are still shocked and tense as we didn’t know when it was coming.
One was that tension is created in
the shower scene by the use of non-diegetic sounds is that in the scene there
are allot of different instruments, including violins, cellos, harps and
violas. String instruments are particularly good at creating tension due to the
variety of things that they can do. Short, sharp, high pitch notes make us
shoot up in fear, whilst long notes create an atmosphere of calm, often
relaxing you before the action. The high notes playing when Marion is
being stabbed emphasises the realism, adding a lot of heart racing tension.
When the murder was committed, a
powerful shot shows Marion with her arm out stretched, grabbing the curtain
with desperation seemingly trying to hold on for her life, before she leans
forward and collapses. This shot creates sympathy from the audience as Marion’s
hand is shot extremely as her face is blurred, making it seems that it is
reaching out of us but we can’t help her. Also when Marion’s hand is sliding
down the wall, being tracked by the camera, shows how, like Marion’s
hand, Marion’s life is no longer being controlled by her.
The next shot is of the blood
swirling down the plughole, which makes you feel sympathetic and creates
tension as Marion is losing a lot of blood and you see it going down the drain.
This could also symbolise the sins washing away, with the water. In this
dramatic scene this shot becomes extremely powerful as the drain shot cuts to
an extreme close up shot of Marion’s eye, which then slowly zooms out.
In
conclusion, I think the main way that tension is created by Hitchcock, is by
the use of sound, essentially the non-diegetic sounds of the music. The
stringed instruments add suspense and create an incredible atmosphere. The
other way I believe is effective in creating tension is the camera shots, which
let the audience believe whatever they want without being too violent or
tasteless. Lastly is the way that a sense of calmness is created before the
‘storm’ of action, the death of Marion.
I believe the film had a good storyline, was a
highly original picture, used every technique to the best of its ability and I
can understand why the film was as successful as it was. In summary, a fantastic
film of its day, although it is now too out-of-date to shock as it did in its
prime. It still uses powerful methods of creating tension which have been the
inspiration of many films of today.
The shot taken straight after the murder is also a
shot to create tension, there is a shot of the camera panning across to the
bedside table to remind us of the money that started the journey for Marion.
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