History Film / Chronicle

* TroubledTeen: Andrew is this ''in spades.'' His life consists of an extremely abusive alcoholic father and a terminally ill bedridden mother and is frequently bullied at school, not to mention everything else that happens to him throughout the film, giving him serious mental issues. The fact that Andrew decides to keep it all bottled up until hitting his RageBreakingPoint instead of reaching out to talk to someone about it doesn't help matters either, ''especially'' after he acquires his powers.

** During the Lego scene, Andrew builds a model of the Seattle Space Needle, the location of the climax.

* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** After the talent show, Matt mentions that Andrew's expanding ego and hubris will be his downfall. He says it semi-jokingly, but it's from that point on that things start going downhill.
** During the toy store scene, [[spoiler: Andrew]] holds a red lightsaber like the one used by [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader]]. Also, evidently, a ShoutOut.
** During the Lego scene, Andrew builds a model of the Seattle Space Needle. Guess where the climax occurs? [[spoiler:Contrary to the end of that scene, though, the Needle survives.]]
** [[http://i.imgur.com/aYQx7.jpg This little detail in the first scene]].

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Andrew genuinely seems to love his father and want to make him happy. Richard is

%%* BerserkButton: Don't tell Andrew what to do. And GET AWAY FROM HIM.
%%* BigManOnCampus: Steve. Unlike the usual examples, he is a genuine NiceGuy and nice to Andrew before they all get powers.

* FoundFootageFilms: The film uses cameras from a variety of sources.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Andrew is melancholic (introverted and very, very insecure); Steve is sanguine (incredibly outgoing and generally a NiceGuy); Matt is phlegmatic (indifferent to Andrew and people-oriented) but becomes more choleric as the story progresses (more passionate but deeply troubled about Andrew and his powers).

** During the toy store scene, [[spoiler: Andrew]] holds a red lightsaber like the one used by [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader]]. Also, evidently, a ShoutOut.
** During the Lego scene, Andrew builds a model of the Seattle Space Needle. Guess where the climax occurs? [[spoiler:Contrary to the end of that scene, though, the Needle survives.]]
** [[http://i.imgur.com/aYQx7.jpg This little detail in the first scene]].

* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Deconstructed. The boys' telekinetic barriers don't make them invincible, and failure to put them up fast enough gets all three in trouble at various points of the movie. [[spoiler:The final fight between Matt and Andrew, in particular, sees them getting thrown through buildings. While it's far more punishment than a normal human being can take, they both end up bruised, beaten and bloody by the end. Also, Andrew dies when Matt impales him with a spear because Andrew was so [[UnstoppableRage angry]] that he didn't see the spear coming.]]

* VillainHasAPoint: Richard, while being abusive drunk and a joke of a father, still makes a point about Andrew having a costly camera in his room while his mother is dying without proper medication. [[spoiler: The cash Andrew stole during his short spree as a robber wasn't even half of the sum the camera was worth]].

* {{Capepunk}}: In this film, when you give superpowers to a moody, troubled teenager [[spoiler:like Andrew]], he'll turn out less like [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and more like [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]] or [[UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} Eric Harris]].

''Chronicle'' is a 2012 {{found footage|Films}} super-power action film directed by Creator/JoshTrank and written by Creator/MaxLandis focusing on three teenage boys who discover a mysterious object in a cave on the outskirts of town. They soon discover that exposure to the object has granted each of them [[MindOverMatter telekinetic abilities]]. As they practice with their abilities, they get stronger with them, and learn to [[FlyingBrick fly and protect themselves from harm]]. They don't exactly become heroic pillars of justice and instead use their powers for random pranks and goofing around, as teen boys do.

** In the climax, [[spoiler: Andrew may now be completely unhinged and is about to drop his father to his death from the hospital bulding, but he still manages to throw this trope back at him by essentially saying that it was his constant abuse that indirectly led to many of the movie's events, and had ultimately drove him off the deep end]].

%%* AppliedPhlebotinum: [[spoiler:MagicMeteor.]]

* NotSoStoic: Pseudo-philosopher with hints of a superiority complex Matt steadily starts showing real emotion in response to [[spoiler: Andrew's FaceHeelTurn]] until he's sobbing uncontrollably [[spoiler: moments before killing Andrew]].

%%* AbusiveParents: Richard Detmer, especially in his final scene.

%%* BulletCatch: Andrew successfully does this while [[spoiler: rampaging through Seattle, catching massed automatic fire from a SWAT team]].

* AbusiveParents: Richard Detmer, especially in his final scene.

* AppliedPhlebotinum: [[spoiler:MagicMeteor.]]

* BerserkButton: Don't tell Andrew what to do. And GET AWAY FROM HIM.
* BigManOnCampus: Steve. Unlike the usual examples, he is a genuine NiceGuy and nice to Andrew before they all get powers.

* BondBreaker: Ultimately, [[spoiler:Andrew, for choosing to take his father's BreakingSpeech on "they're not your friends" to heart]].
* BulletCatch:
** Andrew successfully does this while [[spoiler: rampaging through Seattle, catching massed automatic fire from a SWAT team]].
** Matt not so much. [[spoiler:He gets shot at once, and can't stop it, though he might have at least softened the blow.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The entire second half of the trailer does all it can to give away [[spoiler:Andrew's FaceHeelTurn]], which doesn't really set in until more than halfway through the movie. This proves TropesAreNotBad, though, as knowing what's coming generates a definite sense of dread.

--> You don't pay for public school, you ''IDIOT!''

** [[spoiler: Andrew]] threatens his father: "I could crush you! Do you know that? ''I could crush you''!"

** Andrew has a lot of moments where it counts - [[spoiler:when he didn't think it was wrong to veer a car off the road; after he accidentally killed Steve; when he videotaped Steve's funeral; when he tears a spider limb-from-limb for no reason; and when he gives that Apex Predator speech ("A lion doesn't feel guilty when it eats a gazelle").]]

* NotUsingTheZWord: The kids never compare themselves to, say, [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] or the ComicBook/FantasticFour, and no one uses the words "superpower" or "superhero", as if comic books simply don't exist in this universe. [[FridgeBrilliance Considering]] the boys have to look up "telekinesis" in the dictionary before they can put a name on "the thing we can do where we move stuff with our minds", this could be the case.

* KickTheDog: Andrew has a lot of moments where it counts - [[spoiler:when he didn't think it was wrong to veer a car off the road; after he accidentally killed Steve; when he videotaped Steve's funeral; when he tears a spider limb-from-limb for no reason; and when he gives that Apex Predator speech ("A lion doesn't feel guilty when it eats a gazelle").]]

* {{Capepunk}}: In this film, when you give superpowers to a moody, troubled teenager [[spoiler:like Andrew]], he'll turn out less like [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and more like [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]].

* SuperHero: An arguable example, to say the least. The question of whether ''Chronicle'' is a superhero movie or not is approaching InternetBackdraft levels. Despite the [[NotUsingTheZWord word "superhero" or "superpowers" never being mentioned]], the way the boys gain their power is heavily reminiscent of Creator/MarvelComics classics (particularly Franchise/SpiderMan and the ComicBook/FantasticFour), and the further dynamic of the film, particularly the third act, cements this impression. On the other hand, writer Max Landis has appeared a bit disconcerted by the label being applied, stating that, by the standards applied to ''Chronicle'', ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'' and ''Film/{{Firestarter}}'' would be considered superhero movies if they came out today.

* AmbiguousSituation: Working from the information in the film, it's unclear whether [[spoiler:Steve's death was due to a freak by natural lightning bolt, or if Andrew was somehow responsible--and even if he was, it's not clear if it was killing him in a rage or losing control of his power. Max Landis, however, has clarified that Steve's death was an accident, and that Andrew didn't have lightning powers.]]

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Andrew. You can only feel sorry for all the bad things happening to him and his eventual snap]]

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Zig-zagged. While Steve is the first character to die, none of the characters were written with a specific race in mind and [[Creator/MichaelBJordan his actor]] just happens to be black.]]

* MindOverManners: Matt tries to establish rules for the safe and ethical use of their powers after their telekinesis gets so strong that Andrew almost kills a redneck trucker.

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Andrew is melancholic; Steve is sanguine; Matt is phlegmatic but becomes more choleric as the story progresses.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Zig-zagged. Steve is killed 3/4 through the movie, becoming the first character to die, but none of the characters were written with a specific race in mind and [[Creator/MichaelBJordan his actor]] just happens to be black.]]

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler:Steve is killed 3/4 through the movie, becoming the first character to die.]]

* FallenHero: Richard, as a former firefighter, has presumably saved more than enough lives to be called a hero. The loss of his job and his wife's illness has reduced him to an abusive, alcoholic LowerClassLout {{Jerkass}} by the time of the film.