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