Intertexuality

Intertexuality is a term used to describe the referencing between films. Films 'borrow' from each other and the audience may recognise certain camera angles, mise en scene, editing or clips of sound in a film that they have seen or heard in another.

In the clip of 'Fatal attraction' there are several aspects taken from the film 'Psycho'. During the attack on the woman in the film 'Psycho' there are shots of the shower head from worm's eyed view, shots of the blood going down the pug-hole and the victims feet getting into the shower. Tense music is used as a non-diagetic sound to build up suspense. There is also a shocking shot of the victim screaming and her terrified facial expression. At the end of the scene it shows the victims eye and the anonymous killer walking off.



In 'Fatal attraction' there is a scene of 2 women fighting and arguing in the bathroom. There are jump shots used here to show the contrast between the fighting and the man downstairs in the kitchen calmly boiling the kettle. Once the man hears screaming he runs upstairs to the rescue and after struggling violently with the vicious woman, manages to strangle and drown the woman in bath water. Soon after she comes to life and is then shot by the other woman. Elements such as male and female conflict and struggling over a knife from 'Psycho' are used in this film to build suspense. In both films a white bathroom is used as the murdering location this is probably used in contrast of the event because white is associated with pureness and peace. In both films there is a part where the shower curtain is dragged down as an attempt for stability or an escape. There are also shots of the feet in 'Fatal attraction' that could have been influenced by 'Psycho'. Similar aspects also include tense music and close-ups of the faces of the women.