This scene from PSYCHO is where Arbogast gets murdered by ‘Mother’.  From the start if the scene parallel music is played to create tension. Collision cutting is use in the scene, it starts off moving very slow along with the music then when mother appears the music and scene gets quicker. Point of view shots are used a lot him this scene to make you feel more of a part of it. There are two points of views with in the scene, one from Arbogast when he walks into the house and then one from ‘Mother’ as Arbogast falls down the stairs. Handheld camera also is used in this scene during Mother’s point of view; this is used here so that the scene seems more hectic. Like Marion’s murder scene body horror is use as you see his face get slashed twice, but you don’t see the knife go into Arbogast which is using restricted narration at the bottom of the stairs. The Hays code stopped body horror from going over the top at the time as it was a way to censor movies; it was abandoned 8 years after Psycho was released.  Arbogast is viewed from a high angle throughout this scene, showing he has little power now, whereas the knife is viewed from a long angle showing power, the knife also shows male power as it is a phallic weapon

This scene from PSYCHO is Marion’s murder scene in the shower, where she is killed by ‘Mother’. This picture from the scene is lit by back lighting so that a silhouette is only shown; this is done so you can’t see the face of the killer. When the killer is first seen by Marion parallel music is played to make the scene more dramatic. Marion is killed by a phallic weapon; phallic weapons show male power and strength. Using a phallic weapon also is a way of showing Norman’s sexual frustration that was caused by his mother telling him that women are bad and so is sex. This scene is the first bit of body horror we see in the film, even though we don’t see the knife go into Marion blood is still shown. Collision cutting is use during this scene, it goes from fast shots and music while Marion is being stabbed to slower shots and music once the murderer leaves, this is done to create confusion and dramatic effect. This shows Hitchcock’s “auteur” influence as he uses collision cutting in various films that he has directed, such as The Birds. “Auteur Theory” was a concept originated by Andrew Sarris in his essay “Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962.” In this clip, we can see Hitchcock’s auteur status in the way he cleverly uses collision cutting. In the 1920s, when Hitchcock was learning to make films, he was particularly inspired by Soviet Montage films like Battleship Potemkin (1924). The scene uses a lot of close-ups to create confusion while Marion is being murdered; close-ups are also used afterwards to create tension.  

This scene from PSYCHO is when Norman and Marion talk in the office; this scene is lit by low key lighting to create larger, creepy shadows. Norman is shown at a low expressionist angle for the first time in this scene which shows a higher and creepy power. The birds on the wall are birds of prey, this is to symbolise that Norman kills women as he ‘stuffs birds’. In this scene Norman changes quickly when Marion mentions his Mother, the angle of Norman changes at this point and the lighting casts a shadow on to his face to represent the bad side of him. This shows his personality changing into his ‘mother’. When Norman changes in this scene there are more close ups used so you can see the expression on his face

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