Tropescilloscope: Unreliable Narrator

A narrator who may not be telling the truth. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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