Tropescilloscope: Faking the Dead

A character fakes their own death for specific reasons. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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