Psycho Deconstruction

Genre: Thriller, Slasher, Horror, Mystery 

Camera Angles, Sound and Editing

The sequence opens with a mid shot of the female character which cuts into a close up shot of her getting into the shower. There is then a mid shot of her in the shower, which occasionally cuts to a point of view or close up of the shower head. There are the on-screen diegetic sounds of the door opening, getting in the shower and closing the shower curtain as these are all common sounds. The on-screen diegetic sound of the shower running continues throughout the whole sequence. This all builds a realistic scene that everyone can relate to, making the events that happen occur even more distressing. The scene begins to build tension and add suspense as it continues. 

The long shot of the shower allows the audience to see the approaching shadow through the curtain. The sudden drawing back of the curtain to reveal the murderer along with the non-diegetic high-pitch violin screeching is a frightening reveal to the audience, and links to the thriller and horror genre.

There is a close up shot as the girl screams (on-screen diegetic) which cuts to an extreme close up of her mouth. The are various straight cuts that build and get faster as the intensity of the scene begins to increase. The non-diegetic high pitch violin music increases throughout. There is a mid shot of the murderer with a knife which cuts to a high angle shot of her getting stabbed. This shot is blurred due to the fact that the certificate is a 15. The closeups of her face, the murderer and body parts along with the high angle of the blood in the water portrays the scene to the audience in a less obvious way, allowing the audience to use their imagination more, which is a common convention of the horror genre. There is the on-screen diegetic sound of the girl struggling and screaming as the non-diegetic music continues.

The mid shot of the back of the murder leaving the room keeps their identity concealed, which is a typical convention of horror movies, in which the villain is either revealed at the end (or sometimes never completely revealed.)

The extreme close up of the hand grabbing the bathroom wall combined with the mid shot of her sliding down it gives the 'deed is done' impression to the audience, who have just witnessed the vicious and distressing attack on the victim. Eventually the non-diegetic music deepens, which makes it sound much more sinister, adding to the disturbing mood and linking to the horror and thriller genre.

 

 

 

There is an extreme close up of the victim grabbing the shower curtain, which jump cuts to a high angle shot of her crippled and injured in the bath before returning to the shower curtain as it breaks when she tries to pull herself up. 

There is then a close up of her laying dead over the side of the bath. As the girl falls out of the bath the music slows down and gets quieter until it fades out, with just the diegetic shower and plug sound being heard as it has been the whole way through. 

A close up shot of her feet reveal blood being washed away in the water before there is a tilt shot to the plug hole. From there the camera begins to zoom into the plug hole, before a transitioning into the victims eye as the camera begins to zoom out again. 

The camera continues to zoom out until the dead girl is revealed, with only the diegetic sound of the shower being heard. There is then a panning shot to the door, and the sequence finishes.