Tropescilloscope: Serial Killer

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

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