Tropescilloscope: Nothing Is Scarier

Emptiness used to invoke fear by leaving it to the audience's imagination. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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