Hidden Darkness In Alfred Hitchcock's Film Psycho

Analyse de Film Psycho Psycho is an Alfred Hitchcock psychological horror film based around a series of events surrounding Bates Motel and its caretaker. The film deals with many characters, including Marion, a bank employee running away with 40,000 dollars in cash that she has stolen from a customer, along with Norman, the manager of Bate’s Motel with a kind demeanor and a murderous past. Every character within the film supports a theme of internal, hidden darkness within them. Each conceals their actions and desires from the outside world, and occasionally even themselves. The theme of internalized darkness is prevalent in all characters within the film, and is a vital contributor to the development of the plot. An early example of internal darkness present in the film is found in the scene “Marion Drives Away.” In this scene, Marion is running away from her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona with 40,000 dollars she has stolen from her position at the bank. As she drives, the consequences of her

Initially, Marion has a black car that she is seen driving while escaping with the stolen money. However, in order to avoid being tracked, she trades in her black car for a white one. Though practical, this action is also symbolic of Marion’s urge to escape her own inward darkness by concealing it with the white of the car. As the movie continues, the car is again used as representation of the theme when it is pushed into the swamp. After murdering Marion, Norman hides his crime by submerging her vehicle in the dark swamp. Though he believes he is protecting his mother, in reality he is shielding himself from the truth of what he has done. In the final scene of the film, the car is used one more time as a symbol. Being pulled up from the darkness of the mud as an ominous score plays, the car embodies the hidden darkness of each character being pulled into the