The Axe Murders of Villisca is a ghost story based on the house where the notorious 1912 axe murders took place. Three outcast teenagers break into the house in search of answers and ghosts, but discover something far beyond their worst fears. In 1912, Eight People Were Brutally Murdered in Their House.
This movie contains the following tropes:
- Artistic License – History: The murder scene in the beginning has some historical inaccuracies:
- The murderer is featured as Reverend George Kelly. Most now agree that the murderer was most likely German migrant Paul Mueller, who slaughtered over a hundred people throughout the United States and even his home country of Germany from 1898 to 1922.
- Kelly was born in England yet they didn't give him an English accent.
- Kelly is seen using the blunt end of the axe on Josiah Moore. While the blunt end was used on the rest of the victims, the killer for some reason used the blade to slice Josiah's skull.
- Lena Stillinger is portrayed as a full-grown teenager when in reality she was 12 years old. The actress who played her, Madison Lawlor, was 21 at the time.
- The Stillinger girls are portrayed as on the floor and screaming for their lives as they are killed. The girls in actuality were killed in the bed they were sleeping in.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Pretty much Exactly What It Says on the Tin when someone is possessed by The Evil.
- Blood Is the New Black: Kelly is covered in blood after massacring the entire house.
- Demonic Possession: Almost everyone who walks into the house becoming possessed by an ancient evil, which results in their eyes turning black. The demon, who claimed to be "Born before your gods", possesses Reverend Kelly to commit the original murders in 1912 and later tries to make the teenagers who walk into the house kill each other.
- Missing Mom: Dennis' mom apparently died. The Evil makes an illusion of his mother to convince him to jump off the house so they could be mother and son again.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Reverend Kelly is possessed by an ancient evil in the house and he slaughters everyone in the house with an axe, sporting Black Eyes of Evil to go with it. When the evil releases control of him, Kelly begins to break down in tears and let's out a painful scream.
- Straight Gay: Dennis is gay.
