Tropescilloscope: Serial Killer

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

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