10 Best Horror Movie Shower Scenes

1. Psycho

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Really, was it ever in doubt as to which shower scene nabbed the top spot here?

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is viewed as one of the absolute greatest films not only in horror history, but in the history of cinema, period. And in its shower scene, Hitch's 1960 picture has one of the most memorable scenes in film history.

That scene, of course, sees Janet Leigh's Marion Crane deciding it's time for a well-needed refresh during her stay at the Bates Motel. Stepping into the bath tub to take a shower, it's there that a shadowed figure slashes away at Marion as Bernard Herrmann's iconic screeching score plays out over the action.

It was initially suggested that the figure in question was obviously Norma Bates, but the eventual reveal detailed how Norma was long dead and it was in fact her son Norman taking on the persona of his deceased mother.

The shower scene itself was filmed over an eight-day period, utilising a total of 78 different camera angles, making 52 cuts as the frenzied attack on Marion and her resulting panic was expertly transmitted to the watching audience.

Such an important part of cinema history, that scene has even been the sole focus of documentaries in the years since it first left audiences in a state of shock.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.