History Film / Monster1999

* EatTheDog: Lloyd states that whilst the Monster may kill larger animals, such as cows, it has a strict diet of people and small pets. A dog is snatched up as one of the Monster's first victims, with its bloody collar being one of the early clues that Travis finds to make him think Lloyd has a point. The Monster's lair in the storm drains is later shown to be carpeted in cat and dog bones.

* PassingTheTorch: Lloyd wants to do this to Travis, as he's getting too old to kill the Monster every year.[[spoiler:Travis accepts at the end.]]

* DeathBySex: Enforced due to the Monster forcing the town to abide by monster movie rules. Its first victims after reviving are a pair of teens making out in their car and preparing to have sex while its second set are making out whilst skinny dipping.

* NothingIsScarier: Exactly ''how'' the Monster escaped the movie and how it's [[RealityWarper effecting the town]] is never revealed, and Lloyd outright admits he hasn't figured it out. He speculates it's the result of a curse placed on the town, but isn't certain. He only figured out the rules, not how it actually started.

* ChekhovsGun: Subverted. Early in the film, when Lloyd is placed in prison, he overhears that one of the farmers is missing a cow. After confirming this, he develops a horrified look and mutters to himself that "it never eats cows". Aside from the dead cow's head popping up in a lake to terrorize a pair of skinny dippers before the Monster eats them, and Lloyd instructing Travis that the Monster never eats cows, this uncharacteristic behavior

* ChekovsGun: Subverted. Early in the film, when Lloyd is placed in prison, he overhears that one of the farmers is missing a cow. After confirming this, he develops a horrified look and mutters to himself that "it never eats cows". Aside from the dead cow's head popping up in a lake to terrorize a pair of skinny dippers before the Monster eats them, and Lloyd instructing Travis that the Monster never eats cows, this uncharacteristic behavior

* DeathBySex: Enforced due to the Monster forcing the town to abide by monster movie rules. Its first victims after reviving are a pair of teens making out in their car and preparing to have sex while its second set are making out skinny dipping.

* GenreThrowback: Justified: the Monster escaped from a 1950s monster movie and every time it gets loose, it enforces the rules of one on the town by its mere presence.

* ImmuneToBullets: Guns generally can't ''kill'' the Monster, but they can apparently effect it somewhat. Sometimes, as Lloyd points out, it varies from 'sequel' to 'sequel' how vulnerable it is.

* NothingIsScarier: Exactly ''how'' the Monster escaped the movie and how it's [[RealityWarper effecting the town]] is never revealed an Lloyd outright admits he hasn't figured it out. He speculates it's the result of a curse placed on the town, but isn't certain. He only figured out the rules, not how it actually started.

* PoliceAreUseless: Justified and Enforced: the 'movie' the town is trapped in forces everything in it to run on horror movie logic, which includes making this trope true. In fact, Lloyd outright states one way to tell the Monster is dead is the police will finally show up.

Travis returns to his hometown of New Purgatory to take care of his elderly, seemingly insane, estranged grandfather, famous monster movie director Lloyd Reeves. Lloyd believes the movies he's created have somehow become real and that the entire town is in danger. However, despite Travis's misgivings, his grandfather may be more right than anyone could ever imagine. And now it's a race against time to stop a horrible evil before it's set loose on the world.

* BetterThanABareBulb: Lloyd lampshades BMovie cliches constantly. Justified, as he's a director and also aware the Monster is warping reality to make the town follow the rules of one.

* CasandraTruth: Justified and Enforced: no matter how much evidence suggests Lloyd is right about the Monster, one of the 'rules' of the movie is that no one will believe it until it's too late. They'll just come up with a 'logical explanation.'
* {{Curse}}: While the Monster is supposedly an alien, Lloyd speculates it's the result of a curse on the town that brought it out of the movies and causes it to resurrect every three years (or according to Lloyd, at one point have a sister) to attack the town. If not killed, then it will destroy the town and escape the 'movie.' After it's beaten, everyone forgets its real except the movie's 'protagonist' and anyone it killed [[RetGone ceases to exist.]]

* CameFromTheSky: The Monster came to Earth in a meteorite in the InUniverse movie franchise. However, while the real one ''did'' arrive this way, its actually the result of a supernatural curse.

* NothingIsScarier: Exactly ''how'' the Monster escaped the movie and how its [[RealityWarper effecting the town]] is never revealed an Lloyd outright admits he hasn't figured it out. He speculates it's the result of a curse placed on the town, but isn't certain. He only figured out the rules, not how it actually started.
* OutOfContinues: Lloyd theorizes this is the only way the cycle could actually end: to find a way to permanently kill the Monster (and presumably then do the same to it's Sister).

* ResurrectiveImmortality: The Monster can be killed, but either it or its sister will always resurrect every three years for a 'sequel.'

* {{Curse}}: While the Monster is supposedly an alien, in actuality it's the result of a curse on the town that brought it out of the movies and causes it to resurrect every three years (or according to Lloyd, at one point have a sister) to attack the town. If not killed, then it will destroy the town and escape the 'movie.' After it's beaten, everyone forgets its real except the movie's 'protagonist' and anyone it killed [[RetGone ceases to exist.]]

* EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce: The Monster returns every three years. If it were to ever win and destroy the town, it would fully escape the movie and be let loose on the world as a whole.

* ImmuneToBullets: Guns generally can't ''kill'' the Monster, but they can apparently harm it. Sometimes, as Lloyd points out, it varies from 'sequel' to 'sequel' how vulnerable it is.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Part of the curse: after the monster is destroyed and the movie properly 'ends', everyone but the 'movie's' protagonist forgets it and its rampage. As for whoever it kills, [[RetGone they simply cease to exist.]]

* PassingTheTorch: Lloyd wants to do this to Travis, as he's getting too old to kill the Monster every year.]]
* PhlebotinumInducedStupidity: The curse the town is trapped in forces everything in it to abide by horror movie conventions. This explicitly includes making everyone but the 'movie's' designated protagonists GenreBlind.
* PoliceAreUseless: Justified and Enforced: the curse on the town forces everything in it to run on horror movie logic, which includes making this trope true. In fact, Lloyd outright states one way to tell the Monster is dead is the police will finally show up.
* RealityWarper: The curse on the town seems to have some level of reality warping effects, from bringing the monster to life, to erasing all memory of it after its killed, to [[RetGone erasing its victims]], and even enforcing horror movie rules on the town.

* RetGone: What happens to anyone killed by the Monster.

* TheGhost: There's actually a second Monster called Sister of the Monster that the curse also brought to life and was buried in the same quarry as the original. She never appears, however. [[spoiler:However, at the end of the movie a tentacle is seen retreating into the lake as a SequelHook despite the original being confirmed dead at the time, implying she might also be free and waiting three years for her 'sequel.']]

* HealingFactor: [[spoiler:The Monster adapted to being blown up with a bomb thrown down its throat by developing the ability to regenerate.]]

* SequelHook: PlayedWith: while the movie ends with [[spoiler:a tentacle retreating into the lake, implying another Monster is out the or the Sister of the Monster has returned as well]], the movie's invoking horror movie cliches whenever possible makes it unclear if this was actually intended to set up a sequel or just poking fun at this cliche.

* StupidityInducingAttack: The curse the town is trapped in forces everything in it to abide by horror movie conventions. This explicitly includes making everyone but the 'movie's' designated protagonists GenreBlind.

* AffectionateParody: While a celebration of {{B-Movie}}s, the film has no problem lampshading and poking fun at genre conventions.

Travis returns to his hometown to take care of his elderly, seemingly insane, estranged grandfather, famous monster movie director Lloyd Reeves. Lloyd believes the movies he's created have somehow become real and that the entire town is in danger. However, despite Travis's misgivings, his grandfather may be more right than anyone could ever imagine. And now it's a race against time to stop a horrible evil before it's set loose on the world.

* AffectionateParody: While a celebration of 1950s monster movies, the film has no problem lampshading and poking fun at genre conventions.

* BigBad: The title Monster.

* GenreSavvy: Lloyd, as he ''made'' the movies the Monster came from. As it runs on horror movie logic, Lloyd's knowledge of how horror movies work is instrumental to stopping it every year.

* RefugeeFromTVLand: The title Monster somehow escaped from the movies Lloyd made and returns every three years.