Tropescilloscope: Thriller

Trope: Anticipation of action, rather than action itself. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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