Shiver is a 2012 thriller based on a novel of the same name by Michael Prescott (under the pseudonym Brian Harper).
There’s a Serial Killer on the loose known as the Gryphon (John Jarratt of Wolf Creek fame), after his calling card, which is to leave a figurine of a gryphon on the bodies of his victims. Wendy Alden (Danielle Harris), a shy and insecure woman working as a technical writer, finds himself in his line of sight. He tries to kill her once, but when he fails, he returns with a vengeance.
Not to be confused with the Wolves of Mercy Falls novel or the video game series of the same name.
Tropes featured in this work include:
- Abusive Parents: Wendy’s mother isn’t exactly mother-of-the-year material. She refuses to hear what her daughter has to say about her encounter with the Gryphon, assuming instead that she was either dumped or impregnated by Jeffrey, and is constantly pushing her to get a raise. Wendy believes her behavior stems from her father walking out on the family. This also may or may not have also been the case with Rood.
- Ax-Crazy: Downplayed with Rood. While he’s a serial killer and not very sociable around the fairer sex, he is intelligent and (mostly) organized in his crimes. Played straight after his confrontation with Wendy, after which he becomes more and more unhinged until he finally shoots up Wendy’s workplace while looking for her.
- Bullying a Dragon: Sanchez, the inmate on the prison bus, taunts and threatens the Gryphon, fully aware of who he’s talking to. When the Gryphon escapes, he shoots Sanchez in the head.
- Calling Card: The Gryphon derives his name from leaving figurines of a gryphon on the corpses of his victims.
- Cop Killer: Rood kills the two cops outside Jeffrey's house, where Wendy had been staying.
- Expy: The Gryphon, aka Franklin Rood, is essentially Francis Dolarhyde without any humanizing traits. Like Dolarhyde, his god complex is manifested in the form and the name of a mythical creature, and he views his murders as works of art.
- Freudian Excuse: Attempted with Rood. He was shown being harassed by bullies in a schoolyard, and he is briefly stated to have had a “rough childhood”, although aside from that flashback, it’s never shown in detail, and this doesn’t explain anything about his misogyny.
- A God Am I: The Gryphon displays shades of this. He boasts about how he can “wipe out a world in less than a minute whenever [he] please[s]".Gryphon: Now, repeat after me. You're far greater and stronger than I. You're the strongest. I'm blinded by your radiance. Overwhelmed. Chastened. Humbled.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Possibly due to his poor social skills amongst them, the Gryphon hates women in particular, and chooses them for his murders.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Speculated, but never confirmed, by the Gryphon's profiler.
- It's All About Me: Wendy’s mother, and Rood, as well. See Abusive Parents and A God Am I above, respectively.
- Off with His Head!: A major part of Rood’s MO. He severs the heads of his victims post-mortem and keeps them in jars as trophies.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: John Jarratt relapses into his native Australian accent frequently.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: At the end, as Rood is bleeding out from his gunshot wounds, Wendy coerces him into repeating after her in the same way he tried to force her to, admitting how powerless he is.
- Razor Floss: The killer's weapon of choice is a garrote, which in his words can cut through skin like wax.
- Serial Killer: Franklin Rood, aka the Gryphon, has killed 3 women by the start of the film — always with a garrote — and claims a fourth with the intention of claiming a fifth. He always takes their heads and leaves a gryphon figurine at the crime scene.
- Stalker with a Crush: Rood has taken to an unhealthy obsession with Wendy. He insists that he loves her, but his "love" comes across as more of a form of objectification.
- Took a Level in Badass: Wendy, and how! She goes from timid and passive to stabbing the Gryphon and running from him to running him off the road and eventually shooting him to death.
- "Well Done, Daughter" Gal: Wendy. Her mother is constantly egging her on to ask for a raise because she resents her and doesn't want to care for her anymore.
- Worthy Opponent: How Rood views Wendy for escaping him.
- Would Hurt a Child: Julia pleads with the Gryphon in front of her child to spare her because she has another baby coming. He ignores her, and it’s later revealed that he killed her child.
