Intertextuality

Intertextuality is the terminology that describes the visual reference between films. Borrowing from other films allows the audience to recognize certain camera angles, aspects of mise en scene, snippets of sound or methods of editing which also defines the film genre. 

In the movie Psycho (1960), a famous shower scene is used which revolutionised the genre of horror in the 60's. Aspects of the shower scene shown above have been borrowed in other films such as What Lies Beneath, Fatal Attraction, The Stepfather and many other 21st century films.

In What Lies Beneath (2000), theres a scene where a man is carrying a woman up the stairs and then places her in a bath tub and begins running the water which you can find here.

The use of the shower scene as shown is borrowed from the film psycho as a cause of death for the victim. Significant props such as the bath itself, the shower head, and the shower curtain are also used which are key items identified in the film Psycho. 

Here are a few frames from other films Fatal Attraction and The Stepfather where this significant shower scene has also been borrowed from Psycho.

I find it interesting how this film has interpreted the Psycho shower scene as not only have they
borrowed the idea of stabbing someone to death, but they have also used the same way to die
as What Lies Beneath by drowning someone. As the iconic items such as the shower curtain
and the bath is still used, the use of drowning  someone in the bath appears to be a modern/ 21st century  Interpretation of the scene. 

In The Stepfather, they have almost exactly imitated the significant events of the shower scene in Psycho, however the only thing they have changed is the weapon used to kill the man in the bathtub; instead of using a large knife such as the other borrowed scenes, but a piece of glass.