Tropescilloscope: Blackmail

Pay up or X finds out something you want kept quiet. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Cold-Blooded Torture Epic Fail Action Girl Daylight Horror Not Quite Dead Intrepid Reporter Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Slashed Throat Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Despair Event Horizon Chiaroscuro Guile Hero Not So Above It All Adaptational Heroism Green-Eyed Monster Very Loosely Based on a True Story Small Name, Big Ego Irony Broken Aesop Mind Screw Broken Bird Unreliable Narrator Setting Update Love at First Sight Insistent Terminology Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas My Beloved Smother Badass Longcoat Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Credits Gag '80s Hair The Ghost Kubrick Stare Loophole Abuse Cowboy Cop Expy Fake Shemp Pimped-Out Dress Bottomless Magazines Self-Deprecation Novelization Blatant Lies Anachronic Order Eyepatch of Power The Un-Reveal Refuge in Audacity Wrong Genre Savvy Playing Gertrude Let's Get Dangerous! Mercy Kill Demonic Possession Almost Kiss Funny Background Event Wicked Cultured Not Using the "Z" Word Match Cut Mystery and Detective Films Superhero The '70s Non-Indicative Name Silence Is Golden Obfuscating Stupidity Due to the Dead I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Here We Go Again! Badass Boast French Films Dark Action Girl Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Police Brutality Based on a True Story Crucified Hero Shot Spell My Name with an "S" Retcon Adorkable Kick the Son of a Bitch Take a Third Option Gorn Rule of Cool Combat Pragmatist Laser-Guided Karma Loads and Loads of Characters Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Antagonist Title Undying Loyalty Brother–Sister Incest The Mole Adapted Out Shower Scene Rule of Funny Reality Is Unrealistic Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Driven to Suicide Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Anyone Can Die Real Life Writes the Plot Belligerent Sexual Tension Attempted Rape Even Evil Has Standards Leaning on the Fourth Wall The End... Or Is It? Hollywood Darkness As You Know Improvised Weapon Dark Reprise The Starscream Men Are the Expendable Gender Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Super Strength Unresolved Sexual Tension Only Sane Man Leave the Camera Running Chekhov's Gunman Ascended Extra Scenery Porn The '90s Bad "Bad Acting" Chewing the Scenery Psychopathic Manchild Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Easily Forgiven Pet the Dog Guns Akimbo Toplessness from the Back Our Vampires Are Different Actor Allusion Really Gets Around Death by Irony Deliberately Monochrome An Axe to Grind War Is Hell Famous Last Words Didn't Think This Through You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Stealth Hi/Bye Abhorrent Admirer Hope Spot Authority Equals Asskicking Made of Explodium Evil Plan Historical-Domain Character Crazy Jealous Guy Large Ham Fire-Forged Friends Manchild Your Cheating Heart Visual Pun Hair-Trigger Temper Ambiguously Gay In Name Only All Men Are Perverts A Date with Rosie Palms Aside Glance Male Frontal Nudity Evil Sounds Deep Shell-Shocked Veteran Department of Redundancy Department Villain Song Alpha Bitch Pre-Mortem One-Liner Taking the Bullet Dropped a Bridge on Him Horror Films What Happened to the Mouse? Love Triangle Dutch Angle Riddle for the Ages Same Language Dub Artistic License – Geography Actually Pretty Funny Dies Wide Open Eiffel Tower Effect The Cameo Line-of-Sight Name Get Out! Monumental Damage Artistic License – Law Shirtless Scene Sexy Discretion Shot Character Development Overly Long Gag Only Known by Their Nickname Genre Savvy Kill It with Fire Pragmatic Villainy Vitriolic Best Buds Mad Scientist Once More, with Clarity! Manly Tears The Reveal Flashback Blackmail Genre Shift Rousing Speech Broken Pedestal Genre Throwback Romantic False Lead Black Dude Dies First Drill Sergeant Nasty The Chessmaster Breaking the Fourth Wall Fanservice Rule of Symbolism Obstructive Bureaucrat Plucky Comic Relief Hidden Depths Bait-and-Switch An Arm and a Leg Villain Ball Retired Badass Happily Married Gainax Ending Video Credits Trailers Always Spoil This Is Gonna Suck Action Genre Gilligan Cut All There in the Script Running Gag Celebrity Paradox Expository Hairstyle Change Only a Flesh Wound Bloody Hilarious Biopic Animal Title Index No Ending The Remake Serial Killer Disappeared Dad Apocalypse How Big-Bad Ensemble Eagleland Disney Villain Death Evil Brit It's Personal The Stoic Missing Mom Immune to Bullets NO INDOOR VOICE It's All About Me Adaptation Expansion Batman Gambit Not Even Bothering with the Accent Laughing Mad Film Noir Index Hate Sink Took a Level in Badass Would Hit a Girl I Did What I Had to Do Russian Films Empathic Environment The '50s Yandere Disney Death Ms. Fanservice Face–Heel Turn Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Fourth Date Marriage Scare Chord Stealth Pun Fantasy Films Instant Death Bullet Romantic Comedy For Want of a Nail Red Oni, Blue Oni Cat Scare Call-Forward Beauty Is Never Tarnished Bald of Evil Italian Films What the Hell, Hero? Noodle Incident She Cleans Up Nicely Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Enemy Mine Be Careful What You Wish For Slasher Movie Faking the Dead Suspiciously Specific Denial Black Comedy Off with His Head! Offscreen Teleportation Black and Gray Morality Exactly What It Says on the Tin Shut Up, Hannibal! Anti-Villain One Steve Limit Book-Ends Offscreen Moment of Awesome Spiritual Successor Badass Normal Bond Villain Stupidity Thriller And Starring Betty and Veronica Grievous Bottley Harm Final Girl Rule of Three Worthy Opponent Bar Brawl Fate Worse than Death Show Within a Show Badass in a Nice Suit Age Lift Needs Wiki Magic Love Real Life Sadistic Choice Butt-Monkey How We Got Here Artistic License – Military Early-Bird Cameo Word of God The Lancer Sci-Fi Horror Stepford Smiler Only One Name Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Moment Killer Historical Hero Upgrade From Bad to Worse Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Names to Run Away from Really Fast Took a Level in Jerkass Parental Substitute Room Full of Crazy Male Gaze Adaptational Badass Knight Templar Camera Abuse Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Hooker with a Heart of Gold Major Injury Underreaction Auto Erotica Developing Doomed Characters Hero of Another Story Aluminum Christmas Trees Author Avatar One-Man Army The Brute Spared by the Adaptation Every Car Is a Pinto Works Set in World War II Extremely Short Timespan Informed Ability Unusual Euphemism What You Are in the Dark Pyrrhic Victory Extreme Doormat Soundtrack Dissonance I'm a Humanitarian Sequel Escalation Dramedy World of Ham Fatal Family Photo Red Shirt Double Entendre Four-Temperament Ensemble Heterosexual Life-Partners Humans Are Bastards Important Haircut Cool Guns Sacrificial Lion Meaningful Background Event Retirony Suddenly SHOUTING! Gratuitous English Spanner in the Works Suspiciously Similar Substitute No Celebrities Were Harmed Nice Hat Karmic Death Deus ex Machina After the End Mr. Fanservice No OSHA Compliance Star-Crossed Lovers Silent Movie Distracted by the Sexy Cool Old Guy Card-Carrying Villain Handicapped Badass Vomit Discretion Shot Break the Cutie Japanese Films A Father to His Men Hypocritical Humor Drugs Are Bad Dark Is Not Evil Wretched Hive Chase Scene The Dog Bites Back Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Neck Lift Bittersweet Ending Calling the Old Man Out Jerk with a Heart of Gold There Is No Kill Like Overkill As the Good Book Says... Interrupted Suicide The Voiceless Too Dumb to Live Stock Footage Token Minority Only in It for the Money Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Title Drop Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Woman in White My Greatest Failure Foil Mighty Whitey Death of a Child Pretty in Mink Wounded Gazelle Gambit Crapsack World Death Seeker Sanity Slippage Award-Bait Song Those Two Bad Guys Overprotective Dad Boom, Headshot! Product Placement Motor Mouth Television Movie Index Beware the Nice Ones Lampshade Hanging Henpecked Husband Continuity Nod Meet Cute Nothing Is Scarier Berserk Button No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Chekhov's Gun Accidental Murder Implacable Man Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Oh, Crap! Bound and Gagged Bad Boss Put on a Bus Big Fancy House Kick the Dog Gory Discretion Shot Freeze-Frame Bonus Rated M for Manly Precision F-Strike Darker and Edgier B-Movie Bolivian Army Ending Reality Ensues Psychological Thriller Index of Film Westerns Big Damn Heroes The Vamp Destination Defenestration Killed Mid-Sentence Bring My Brown Pants Blood from the Mouth The Faceless Properly Paranoid Evil vs. Evil Red Right Hand It Can Think Darkest Hour Tap on the Head Stylistic Suck All Just a Dream Film Noir Twist Ending Bond One-Liner Becoming the Mask The Quiet One Heroes Want Redheads In Medias Res Amusing Injuries One-Word Title Heroic Sacrifice Adaptational Attractiveness Vacation Films Make It Look Like an Accident You Killed My Father Protagonist Title Tagline Public Domain Feature Films Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Honor Before Reason Adult Fear Random Events Plot Heroic BSoD Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Lighter and Softer Adaptation Dye-Job Failed a Spot Check The Dragon Tranquil Fury Epic Movie The Load Death by Adaptation Karma Houdini Not So Stoic Poor Communication Kills Insane Troll Logic Ominous Latin Chanting Fun with Acronyms Good Is Not Nice Artistic License – Physics Canon Foreigner A God Am I Brutal Honesty Half the Man He Used to Be Hero Antagonist Re-Cut Big Bad From Nobody to Nightmare Villain with Good Publicity Black Comedy Rape Shipper on Deck Jitter Cam Science Fiction Films Lock and Load Montage Blood Knight Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Call-Back As Long as It Sounds Foreign Arch-Enemy Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Conspicuous CG Black Best Friend Sassy Black Woman Vampire Fiction Country Matters For the Evulz Creepy Child Diabolus ex Machina Defrosting Ice Queen Cool Old Lady Daddy's Girl Time Skip British Films Cat Fight Peek-a-Boo Corpse Catapult Nightmare Intergenerational Friendship Adaptational Villainy Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Bloodless Carnage Coming-of-Age Story The '80s Truth in Television Sole Survivor Cloudcuckoolander Groin Attack Foregone Conclusion Dramatic Gun Cock Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Never Trust a Trailer Up to Eleven Unwitting Instigator of Doom Chekhov's Skill Zombie Stories Improbable Aiming Skills Mistaken for Gay "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Red Eyes, Take Warning Parental Neglect Light Is Not Good Knife Nut You Have Failed Me Your Head A-Splode Dirty Coward Kids Are Cruel Ass Shove Dumb Blonde Determinator Ax-Crazy Bi the Way He Knows Too Much Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Animated Credits Opening Revenge The Casanova Scary Black Man Historical Villain Upgrade Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Alas, Poor Villain Reasonable Authority Figure All Girls Want Bad Boys Central Theme Anguished Declaration of Love Freudian Excuse Ambiguous Ending Last-Name Basis Action Survivor Fantastic Racism Captain Ersatz Depraved Bisexual Shoot the Shaggy Dog The Film of the Book Sinister Minister Affably Evil Bury Your Gays Babies Ever After The Chick Artistic License – Gun Safety Totally Radical Dwindling Party Kill 'em All Car Fu Fanservice Extra Bowdlerise Foreshadowing The Musical Crazy-Prepared Disguised in Drag Madness Mantra "Shaggy Dog" Story Recycled IN SPACE! Blonde, Brunette, Redhead The Great Depression Rewatch Bonus Never My Fault Bunny-Ears Lawyer Closed Circle Adaptation Distillation Australian Movies Asshole Victim Slap-Slap-Kiss Hell Is That Noise Fish out of Water Those Two Guys The Hero Demoted to Extra Horror Comedy Maybe Ever After Fat Bastard Death by Sex Affectionate Parody Arc Words Police are Useless Skewed Priorities The Smart Guy Imagine Spot Unusually Uninteresting Sight Never Found the Body Meaningful Name Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Annoying Younger Sibling timeperiod Roaring Rampage of Revenge Fingore Deadpan Snarker The Place She's Got Legs The Ace Greater-Scope Villain Brick Joke Evil Is Petty Papa Wolf Did Not Get the Girl Man on Fire Covers Always Lie Bilingual Bonus Eldritch Abomination Sealed Evil in a Can True Companions Spiteful Spit Vomit Indiscretion Shot German Films Dissonant Serenity Five-Man Band Punch-Clock Villain Dogged Nice Guy Punny Name Does Not Like Shoes Mama Bear Hollywood Law La Résistance Arranged Marriage Drives Like Crazy Dramatic Irony Awesome, but Impractical Adults Are Useless Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Race Lift Bullying a Dragon Straight Gay Creative Closing Credits In the Back Homage Posthumous Character Danny Peary Cult Movies List Leitmotif I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Pay Evil unto Evil Not What It Looks Like Manic Pixie Dream Girl Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" The Bad Guy Wins Air-Vent Passageway Narrator Shout-Out Reckless Gun Usage The Stinger Ambiguous Disorder Redemption Equals Death Reality Has No Subtitles Mundane Made Awesome Beard of Evil Badass Grandpa Naked People Are Funny Redshirt Army Sequel Hook Facial Horror Bavarian Fire Drill Fainting Cain and Abel And I Must Scream Left the Background Music On Sir Swears-a-Lot Beta Couple Have a Gay Old Time Dual Wielding Idiot Ball The Ditz Smoking Is Cool The Mafia Jump Scare Mooks Made of Iron Grey and Gray Morality Rich Bitch Children Are Innocent Jerkass Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Training Montage Together in Death Slasher Smile The Atoner Well-Intentioned Extremist Insult Backfire Death Glare Documentary A.I. Is a Crapshoot May–December Romance As Himself Bloodier and Gorier Red Herring "Well Done, Son!" Guy Meaningful Echo Big Brother Instinct Double-Meaning Title Jerk Jock Christmas Movies Index Not So Different Establishing Character Moment Outrun the Fireball Malevolent Masked Men Contrived Coincidence Catch-Phrase Wham Shot Disproportionate Retribution Pragmatic Adaptation Villain Protagonist Big Applesauce Domestic Abuse Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Evil Is Hammy Neck Snap Tempting Fate Big Eater MacGuffin Dirty Cop Decoy Protagonist He Who Fights Monsters Villain Opening Scene "The Reason You Suck" Speech Taking You with Me The Alcoholic N-Word Privileges Music Stories The Alleged Car Friend to All Children Break the Haughty Say My Name The Bully Canadian Movies Hoist by His Own Petard Amoral Attorney Armor-Piercing Question Politically Incorrect Villain The Oner Deconstruction Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Eureka Moment Smug Snake Corrupt Corporate Executive Badass Bookworm Exact Words Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Ripped from the Headlines Whole Plot Reference Fiery Redhead Parental Incest Fatal Flaw Defiant to the End Unspoken Plan Guarantee It Will Never Catch On Dark and Troubled Past Villainous Breakdown My God, What Have I Done? Dull Surprise Take That! Sports Stories Action Prologue Adaptation Name Change Captain Obvious Framing Device I Need a Freaking Drink Deal with the Devil Alliterative Name Plot Hole Evil Laugh Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Wham Line Victoria's Secret Compartment Gold Digger Dying Moment of Awesome Body Horror Gender Flip Market-Based Title Naïve Newcomer Ironic Echo Military and Warfare Films Pretty Little Headshots Ship Tease Mugging the Monster 20 Minutes into the Future Translation Convention Rape as Drama No Antagonist Casting Gag Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Jerkass Has a Point Morality Pet Mood Whiplash Earn Your Happy Ending Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Evil-Detecting Dog Paper-Thin Disguise Cruel and Unusual Death Soft Glass Stuff Blowing Up The '60s Humiliation Conga No-Holds-Barred Beatdown The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite All There in the Manual Cassandra Truth Funny Foreigner Eye Scream "Awesome McCool" Name The Dreaded Mr. Exposition No-Sell Corpsing Author Appeal I Have Your Wife folderlabel Advertised Extra Ghost Fiction Even Evil Has Loved Ones Mexican Standoff Serious Business Deliberate Values Dissonance Back from the Dead Camp Gay Abusive Parents Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Off-into-the-Distance Ending Brainless Beauty Logo Joke The Stoner Heel–Face Turn Anti-Hero BFG A Minor Kidroduction Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Evil Counterpart Does This Remind You of Anything? Face Death with Dignity The Lost Lenore Historical In-Joke Hong Kong Films The X of Y Femme Fatale Faux Affably Evil Anachronism Stew Big "NO!" Determinator aka: The Determinator Bland-Name Product Throwing Your Sword Always Works Cool Shades Costume Porn Nice Guy You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! And the Adventure Continues Parental Abandonment Shown Their Work More Dakka Those Wacky Nazis Scenery Gorn O.O.C. Is Serious Business Cluster F-Bomb Drowning My Sorrows Gone Horribly Right Artistic License – History The Power of Love Woman Scorned The Sociopath Heel Realization Hypocrite Psycho for Hire Comically Missing the Point Our Zombies Are Different Cool Car Race Against the Clock Agony of the Feet Manipulative Bastard Married to the Job Dirty Old Man Storming the Castle Composite Character Dressing as the Enemy All for Nothing Downer Ending An Aesop Creator Cameo Getting Crap Past the Radar Flipping the Bird Film Series Martial Arts Movie Stalker with a Crush Improbable Weapon User Ungrateful Bastard Curb-Stomp Battle Mythology Gag Everyone Has Standards Big Bad Duumvirate Accidental Misnaming The Hero Dies Bare Your Midriff No Name Given The Big Guy The Cavalry Older Than They Look Better to Die than Be Killed Early Installment Weirdness Curse Cut Short Animal Motifs Rasputinian Death Artistic License – Biology Frame-Up Obviously Evil Would Hurt a Child The Smurfette Principle Damsel in Distress Fan Disservice