Tropescilloscope: In Medias Res

The series starts in the middle of the story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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