History Film / DrillbitTaylor

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Despite obviously being a bully and sociopath, Filkins seems to be a popular student in school.

* BarehandedBladeBlock: Drillbit did this. [[spoiler:He lost his pinky.]]
* BecomingTheMask: At first, Drillbit only accepts the job of being the boy's bodyguard for the money, while additionally planning to rob their houses blindly to get more money just in case so he'll have enough to go to Canada where he'll "be paid to own land". However, after he blindly robs Wade's house and goes to pawn the stolen stuff off for more money, Don encourages him to "milk it" (I.E. stick around with the boys just in case). Drillbit agrees and, throughout the rest of the movie, starts to grow genuinely attached to the boys.

* WouldntHurtAChild: Drillbit Taylor. He refused to fight off Filkins, believing he's only 16-17, [[spoiler:until he finds out that he's really 18 (that would technically mean that he's not emancipated, but is actually a legal adult]]. He spares Ronnie, however, after finding out that [[spoiler:he's only 17]].

* BecomingTheMask: At first, Drillbit only accepts the job of being the boy's bodyguard for the money, while additionally planning to rob their houses to get enough money to go to Canada. However, after Don encourages him to "milk it", Drillbit starts to grew genuinely attached to the boys.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** Chuck and Nick angrily wake Wade up and call him a loser when he tells them to get out of his room.

* WritersCannotDoMath:
** Drillbit says that the total cost of a one-way ticket to Canada ($287), a good winter jacket ($80) and a bribe for the Mounties ($50) comes to $387 and is the figure he wants from the boys so they will have him as their bodyguard. It doesn't come to that figure. The actual figure is $417.
*** Then again, Drillbit could just be that bad at math. He does get a few other things wrong in the film, so getting the maths wrong isn't uncharacteristic of him.

* AbusiveParents: Wade's step father, although sometimes seemingly well intentioned, is a huge jerk towards Wade and is constantly putting him down. He also openly admits to being a bully in his youth.
** Arguably Filkin's father, whom we only see for a brief moment at the end of the movie whacking his son on the head in anger. Filkins is seemingly scared of his parents, and it could be argued that them leaving him behind all by himself while they lived in another country could be considered neglect, a form of abuse.

* KidsAreCruel / TeensAreMonsters: The teens who hired Drillbit are constantly menaced by two bullies, one of whom is completely psychopathic. Not only do they perform the normal bully tactics, but at one point the bullies chase the protagonists with a car, apparently in an attempt to ''murder them for trying to report their behavior''. What makes this even worse is that most of this is done in plain sight of the rest of the kids in school ''and they do absolutely nothing about it'', at least until the protagonists finally grow some backbone and kick some bully ass.

* AbusiveParents:Wade's step father, although sometimes seemingly well intentioned, is a huge jerk towards Wade and is constantly putting him down. He also openly admits to being a bully in his youth.