Jeff Carr has a problem. He loves his sister Mallory dearly, but more than what’s acceptable. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger by the name of Mace strolls into town, followed by a pack of rat-like creatures, promising the troubled teens of San Fernando Valley their heart’s deepest, darkest desires. Away from their controlling families, away from all their troubles, where they will all be accepted.
Tropes include:
- Abusive Parents: Many parents in San Fernando Valley fall somewhere on the spectrum, which leads their children to fall in with Mace's cult. Kevin is The Unfavorite and a "Well Done, Son" Guy; Nikki's mother is a prostitute; Wayne Brubaker's father is a neglectful asshole; the list goes on and on. The one exception out of the main cast is Erin, who genuinely cares for her children and never did anything to hurt them, although Mallory believes otherwise.
- Affably Evil: Mace is unquestionably malevolent, but his friendliness at least seems genuine.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Mallory is dating Kevin, the local outcast.
- Broken Bird: There's a girl in the treatment center who can't seem to say anything more than "I hate daddies."
- Brother–Sister Incest: Jeff has a crush on his sister Mallory, although he's largely disturbed for even feeling that way. By the end, he gives into his urges while high and has sex with her.
- The Corrupter: The children of San Fernando Valley were already on their way towards a self-destructive lifestyle, and once Mace stepped into the picture, they joined his cult without a second thought.
- Deadly Euphemism: Mace’s creed states that his followers will go somewhere where they’re all equal and will be free. It turns out that this "somewhere" is death.
- Downer Ending: Yes, some of the teens have been rescued, but Mallory is dead, Jeff and Erin are left deeply traumatized by her death, J.R. lost his job for trying to play hero, Reverend Bainbridge is left a faithless wreck and couldn't even save Jim, Kevin returns to his parents who will most certainly send him back to the treatment center, the deaths of Mace’s followers total in the hundreds, and it’s implied that Mace is still around, preying on vulnerable teens.
- The Dragon: Kevin serves as this to Mace, until he finally realizes too late that Mace has other, far more nefarious plans for his band.
- Driven to Suicide: The end plan for Mace's followers.
- Glasgow Grin: Faye is given one, courtesy of a Crucifax member she was trying to fight off.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Gruesomely averted. Nikki, not wanting to birth Reverend Bainbridge's baby, joins Crucifax, and Mace sucks the baby out of her with his Overly-Long Tongue.
- Humanoid Abomination: Mace certainly looks human, but he's clearly not. The same could be said for the rest of his kind.
- Idiot Ball: Jeff gets stoned and drunk prior to heading out to Fantazm to get Mallory back, and it impairs his judgment in the long run, nearly leading him to pull a Face–Heel Turn.
- Jerk Jock: Larry Caine. He regularly hits on Mallory despite knowing she's dating Kevin, whom he despises and wants to hurt.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Will Brubaker seems like a pretty straight-up asshole at first, but with a little persuasion from his wife, he joins the mob of parents to rescue their children from Mace. He’s also visibly distraught when he watches his son kill himself.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Kevin never wanted to kill Larry Caine and his friends, and is quite horrified when his friends do.
- No Body Left Behind: After hacking into him with an axe, Kevin finds that Mace only left clothes behind. It's unclear whether this means he successfully killed him, or if he's still alive and just vanished into thin air.
- Overly-Long Tongue: Mace has one that he uses to kill Officer Grady, and later to abort Nikki's baby.
- Pet the Dog: Even though Mace leads a suicide cult, he discourages his followers from hurting the homeless, who he feeds, and does seem to show some genuine concern for Mallory. He also permits his followers to leave whenever they want, even at the end, when he’s about to “take them away”.
- Rotten Rock & Roll: Mace takes over Kevin's band and starts a cult revolving around it, encouraging his impressionable teenage followers to do whatever they want, all with the intent of driving them to suicide.
- Single Mom Stripper: Erin's husband left her with their children, and she took up stripping and phone sex to help them get by.
- The Unreveal: It's never said what Mace really is.
- What You Are in the Dark: While his father is giving him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech, Kevin strongly considers using the Crucifax pendant to take his life then and there, before he sees the double-headed axe in his parents’ garage and rides away on his bike to confront Mace.
