Tropescilloscope: Serial Killer

The Trope: Someone who murders many people in separate incidents. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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