Everyone knows the famous shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, which many a person from that time period refers to as terrifying and I will get to that at some point, however I would like to discuss many lighting aspects Hitchcock utilized to help drive the feeling of the movie through other scenes as well.
To start, the sinking car scene had a low-key lighting by the night sky to emphasis the need to hide a crime and also to hint at the darker aspects of Norman Bates. Norman’s creepiness is illuminated by lighting him from behind which draws the audience to view and focus in on his reactions as the car is sinking, stalls a bit, then sinks again. The low-key aspect to the shot is indicative of sneaking around in the dark to conceal a wrong doing. In this shot through Mise en scène, I found myself as a viewer feeling Norman’s anxiety when the car stops sinking and almost fearful for him, the villain, at getting caught.
In the parlor scene we get a sense of uneasiness due the bright key light on the taxidermy animals through out the room. The feel of a predator towards prey. Norman remains in a fill light position to help add to his awkward and unsettling conversation and indirectly this gives the audience a foreboding of Norman Bates. This in contrast to Marion who is sitting in the full glow of the only light source gives rise to the prey and predator mood once again. The shot of Norman being in the foreground with the owl overhead behind him and illuminated putting Norman in the shadow is a great unnerving shot of his future acts, his sad life, and his dangerous mind. It also lends to his inability to overcome his demons showing an all encompassing hopelessness. Then towards the end of the scene when Norman peeps in on Marion, you see the lighting darken and Norman becomes fully engulfed in the darkness of his “sin” of lust and voyeurism. Again, this is used to showcase the need to hide our transgressions and to add further to Norman’s disturbing behavior.
Next, the final scene in Psycho with Norman being shot in a high key lighting exposes his insanity, like shining a light on the dark places. This scene is eerie with the response of Norman directly looking into the camera and here you see his mental break in all its frightening reality. No more hiding.
Now, the shower scene is shot in a high key light that is showing the contrast between Marion’s extreme vulnerability to Norman’s strong attack with him in complete darkness. The idea of him being engulfed in darkness is used to heighten the fear and mystery of the scene and gives misdirection to the outcome of the plot. The use of the high key lighting in her death is showing the draining of her hopes as well as her life, while adding the camera shots of the drain and her eyes it gives way to a compelling and powerful scene drawing the audience into the horror.
The lighting used throughout the movie is standard for horror or mystery movies because of the suspense and anxiety needed from the movie to engage the audience. However, Hitchcock played with the high key lighting in a different way to border his characters flaws and expose them, which is a fear that we all have and can relate; having our darkest desires held up to the light for the world to see. In a sense Hitchcock is saying with her death and his insanity, here it is and look at it. This gives way to the themes of the movie lack of privacy and voyeurism.
Hitchcock, Alfred. (1960). Psycho [Motion picture]. United States. Universal Studios – Paramount Pictures.
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