Line #10 Film/HeroAndTheTerror


1	[[quoteright:274:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hero_and_the_terror_movie_poster_1988_1020248243.png]]
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3	''Hero and the Terror'' is a 1988 thriller starring Creator/ChuckNorris.
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5	Danny O'Brien (Norris) is a cop who has become known as "Hero" to the public after he captured the brutal SerialKiller Simon Moon (Jack O'Halloran), also known as "The Terror". O'Brien is drawn back into the fray when Simon Moon escapes from his confines to continue his killing spree.
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8	!!This film provides examples of:
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10	* AdaptationalDumbass: In the novel, Simon Moon is quite intelligent, graduating third in his class in law school and successfully maintaining a double life as an entertainment lawyer before his compulsion to kill takes him over completely. In the film, Moon is a DumbMuscle [[TheBrute Brute]] who is described as lacking "higher reasoning skills."
11	* AdaptationalNameChange: In the novel, the protagonist is a Jewish Puerto Rican detective named Herrero Fiddleman, nicknamed "Hero" as a variation on his first name. In the film, he is played by Caucasian actor Chuck Norris, and the RaceLift is accompanied with a name change to Danny O'Brien.
12	* AirVentPassageWay: After his escape from prison, [[SerialKiller Simon Moon]] chooses to hide out in a popular opera house. He captures new victims by hiding in the air ventilation system.
13	* TheBrute: Simon Moon. A truly massive monster and SerialKiller who is just pure uncontrolled rage, so strong that he easily overpowers Chuck Norris himself in the opening. He lacks "higher reasoning skills", to boot.
14	* CowboyCop: {{Reconstruction}}. Initially, O'Brien going in guns blazing to catch [[SerialKiller The Terror]] almost ends in his ''own'' death before the killer accidentally dispatches himself. O'Brien spends years training for his return while haunted by the memories of his failure. He redeems himself by later tracking down and killing his nemesis for good.
15	* DangerTakesABackseat: One of Moon's victims gets into her car, and is immediately killed when Moon suddenly emerges from hiding in the back seat.
16	* EmbarrassingNickname: O'Brien is lauded as "Hero" by the press for catching the SerialKiller known as "The Terror". He hates the nickname because he only caught the Terror through dumb luck after nearly getting himself killed and still suffers from post-traumatic stress.
17	* EvilOverlooker: The poster shows [[SerialKiller Simon Moon]]'s eyes menacingly hovering over a stern-looking Chuck Norris packing heat.
18	* GenericDoomsdayVillain: Simon Moon, the [[TheBrute Brutish]] SerialKiller of the title. The eponymous "Terror" barely appears onscreen, doesn't talk, and is never given a motive. They throw in a brief exposition scene where a psychologist speculates about a FreudianExcuse, but since Simon doesn't speak [[InformedAttribute it's never clarified either way]]. It's also said that Simon is actually incapable of higher thinking, so presumably he doesn't even understand that what he's doing is wrong, but what's important is that he's "pure evil" and Norris has to stop him. He could essentially be replaced with a shark and the movie would have been no different for it.
19	* ILoveTheDead: The original novel includes scenes of Moon sexually molesting the bodies of his victims. The film, possibly to minimize the {{Squick}} factor, establishes that Moon never does anything sexual to his victims.
20	* JackTheRipoff: O'Brien is forced to deny that a criminal is loose because the last time the killer went on a spree, there were loads of copycats.
21	* NeckSnap: Moon's preferred method of dispatching his victims.
22	* RedBaron: Simon Moon has been dubbed "The Terror" by the press for his grisly series of murders.
23	* SilentAntagonist: The most Simon Moon communicates is through grunts and scowls.

Context Film / HeroAndTheTerror