my first analysis essay... -_-

At the beginning you are given shots of things that the girl will have seen; the shower, the wall, her feet and this gives you the feeling that something could jump out at you at any time. Then it cuts to the other side of her so that you can see the shower curtain and the shadow on it. Knowing that something is about to happen, your heart starts to race and you become focused only on what’s going on in the film. Then, the curtain is pulled back by the killer and you see her standing there with a knife ready and poised for attack. It’s so sudden it could make you jump. The killers face is unclear and shrouded in shadow, causing an air of mystery around the person.
The girl screams as she realises what it going on. This is another thing that makes your heart go and leaves you totally transfixed on the screen. Then the killer attacks, stabbing her over and over. The short cuts that are used to show this scene is very effective in the way that it makes you tense, in the same way as a lot of short sentences in a story would cause tension and suspense, so do the cuts.
When it goes into a high angle shot to show more of what’s happening it makes the girl look venerable as she struggles against the knife. You feel dominant as you are looking at them from above. As you see the blood begin to fill the bath, you begin to feel scared for her, the close ups leaving no doubt as to what is happening. After a while of her being stabbed, it cuts to outside where it shows the stormy clouds that could be considered as rage or anger. It could be a parallel with what the girl or even the killer is feeling. It could even be what others will be feeling when they find out what happened. It goes to a close up shot of her hand sliding down the wall and you realise she’s dieing. She can’t do anything and it makes you feel sorry for her and at the same time scared of what just happened.
There is an extreme close up of the girl’s eye as it dilates from shock. Her body is shutting down but her mind doesn’t want it to. This can be seen when she clutches at the curtain at a desperate attempt to try and stay standing but it’s no good. There is a shot of the killer leaving. You still don’t know who she is and the image is no clearer. The girl then slumps over the side of the bath in a very undignified position and you can see the red wound marks on her back.
You see the blood going down the plughole before the image turns and twists into the image of the girl’s eye. The idea that the life is draining out of her is a good one and something that makes us pity the girl. Also, the fact that her blood was going down the drain signifies, perhaps, that the life that was once in her has gone for ever.
As it pulls away from her eye it continues to spin and you can see the way her face is squashed against the floor, her eyes unblinking and her face unmoving. There is no more fight left in her, the results of her assault are clear. She’s dead.

Psycho – the shower scene.