10 Terrifying Scenes In Psychological Thrillers

It may seem rather obvious to include this sequence but let's be clear - this is the most famous, most parodied, copied, aped, studied and dissected cinematic murder of all time. Hitchcock's classic shower death scene may seem a simple one on first inspection - yet the reality is that it took a week to shoot, with a meticulous level of planning usually reserved for a complex stunt or a Scorsese one-take camera shot.

The set up, however, is the essence of cinematic brevity. Marion Crane decides to steal $40,000 from her boss to start a new life with her broke lover Sam. She flees Pheonix for Fairville, California, on the way deciding to take at a rest at a little motel off the freeway...

The shower scene was a masterstroke of Hitchcock planning. A six foot wide shower head was constructed so Hitch could have the camera as close as possible, looking straight into the direction of the water flow, the width meant the water streams would fall on either side of the frame. Seventy-seven different camera angles were used and the three minute sequence was cut over fifty times within the duration.

Some footage was run in reverse with some quick editing, to give the impression of the knife entering Janet Leigh's abdomen, add in Bernard Herrmann's iconic stabbing string composition (the original sequence was designed to be silent) and there it is - the most famous murder in movie history. Legend has it Leigh refused to use a shower ever again.