Friday, April 6, 2012

They Fight Crime



Inspired by the trope They Fight Crime


Two very different characters are obliged to work together to solve a crime. The premise is very often, but not always, expressed in trailers and pitches as "He's an X. She's a Y. Together, they fight crime!" So much that it's almost become a Stock Phrase. Expect lots of cultural clash humor arising both from different policing traditions and from general personal differences between the two characters. Sometimes the ante will be raised by making the crime-fighters from two groups that are actively antagonistic.


Can be the premise of a Buddy Cop Show, although then there usually needs to be some reason for the other cop to continue hanging around beyond the pilot.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Don't Go In the Woods


Inspired by the Trope Don't Go In The Woods

Two or more people, often a group of teenagers, go for a casual hike or a vacation at a secluded retreat in the deciduous wilderness of North America or Europe. Horrible things ensue. The soon-to-be-not-so-happy campers get stalked through the trees by psychopathic killers; they run afoul of tribes of inbred hillbillies; ghosts, werewolves, witches, druids, fairies and other such beings toy with them; perhaps even the trees themselves attack them; they hear strange noises in the night; people disappear; people go insane.
Rarely do movies of this flavor end happily; often with everyone ending up dead, though there may be a Final Girl. This has almost gotten to the point at which such movies almost have Foregone Conclusions.