How does 'Psycho (1960)' represent the theme of horror?

Here is an essay I wrote, exploring and analysing in detail how Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) creates and represents the theme of horror and tension in the iconic 'shower scene'.

In Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), the theme of horror is created through camera angles, sound and lighting, mise-en-scene and editing; creating tension and atmosphere, especially in the iconic shower scene. The start of this scene presents Marion in her motel room, predominately with good intentions in mind as she has decided to go back to Phoenix and replace her stolen money. We are presented with a close up of a piece of paper that she is writing on, with calculations of the possible amount of money she had taken from her workplace and how much she had spent on her car and room for the night. Of course, she is willing to rid of any evidence that she had taken the money in the first place and decides to rip up the piece of paper and flush it down the toilet (as we pan/track her movements to the bathroom) Throughout this whole process a non-diegetic sound bridge is played, an eerie chorus of strings which crescendo as Marion steps into the bathroom, to symbolise that fact that something negative is soon to happen.

As Marion undresses and enters the shower, we are presented with silence, which automatically creates a sense of tension as we are uncertain whether something is going to happen. As we see Marion shower there are a great amount of jump cuts as the camera changes angles, and we interpret that the whole situation seems to be heading to a positive ending, as Marion is willing to go back to Phoenix and her evening seems to be going well…so far. We hear the diegetic sound of the shower. 

Marion-'Psycho'

The first real element of horror that is created is when we have a high angle shot of Marion shower, and then we see the door open and a shadow appears behind the shower curtain. This creates both tension and horror, but we focus on the tension because the curtain acts as a ‘barrier’ between the figure and Marion. As if what is behind the curtain can be the ‘unknown’ so the audience are unsure of what is going to happen.  The camera then slowly zooms in to the shadow as it draws nearer; further creating tension as we realise that whatever it is, is coming for Marion.  We then hear the iconic strings, which breaks up the peaceful silence and relaxation of her shower, as the curtain is drawn back and we are presented with a mid-shot of a silhouette with a knife, which creates horror as we see a weapon and then we hear Marion’s screams. Also as we hear Marion’s screams we are presented with an extreme close-up of her open mouth, which emphasises the scream in itself and create an atmosphere of panic within the audience. We also get a reaction shot of her face (close-up).  As the curtain is drawn back, we can perceive that it acted as a role of a ‘protective barrier’ between herself and the ‘psycho’. 

The element of horror develops very rapidly in the next 20-30 seconds as the ‘psycho’ attempts and succeeds to repetitively stab Marion and the horror is emphasised when we hear the knife stab into her flesh (which was actually created by recording the sound of a melon being stabbed with a knife). During this short period, the horror develops as we see jump cuts of different angles of Marion’s body and the knife as she is getting stabbed, (which are mainly extreme close-ups and close-ups) we also jump to high angle shots of the blood running down the drain. It also seems as if we are watching the scene from the killer’s point of view. 

After the killer leaves we get a close up of Marion’s hand grabbing at the tiles on the wall as she slowly slides down into the bath. The non-diegetic sound of strings changes pitch and we hear very strong, low sounds, as if symbolising the end of the ordeal and possibly her life.  We also get a close up shot of her hand reaching out and grabbing the curtain as she tries to get help.  We then see her fall to the floor.  Then, as we get a low angle shot of the shower head, the strings stop and we are replaced with the silence that had taken place before the incident as all we hear is the running water of the shower.  We then cut to a tracking shot of Marion’s blood running down the drain. The single element that Marion is bleeding and is dead automatically represents the theme of horror. Tension can also be created in this silence. What if the killer comes back?

We are then represented with a very effective use of editing as the scene fades from the drain to Marion’s open eye. The fact that she died with her eyes open can represent the fact that she did not die in peace and her body still represents the shock and seriousness of the event that had happened only moments before. Finally, we are presented with a tracking shot, in which we get a full view of her motel room. We focus for a second on the wad of money that she had stolen. Maybe this is a moral message that nobody gets away with a bad deed? That this is the lesson that Marion had learnt for stealing money? I feel that this tracking, sweeping/pan shot can represent her soul leaving her body and out the window into the afterlife. This can in itself represent horror as some audience members can be uncertain about the afterlife and are uncertain about what is out there and what lies for them? 


Analysing how such a famous, iconic film and in particular this scene, gives me great inspiration to create something which can create such an imprinting effect on the media society. With simple elements such as shadows, sound effects and quick cuts we can create horror and tension within our trailers.