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.