Follow TV Tropes

This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

Following

Nightmare Fuel / Phenomena

Go To

The Film

  • Frau Brückner's son's face.
  • The son's death. He was crazy but the way he died was beyond nasty.
    • When Patua corners Jennifer on the motorboat, she gets so scared a massive swarm of flies responds to her distress and attacks Patua. The flies start to devour his body, and he at one point rips off a chunk of his face trying to get the flies off. He falls into the river, and Jennifer is forced to jump off the boat before it explodes due to a leaking engine. While underwater to avoid the flames, Patua, who is still alive but mostly devoured, tries grabbing Jennifer. She gets away, and Patua is finally killed when he's submerged in the flames caused by the gasoline-tainted water.
    • And the sounds he makes when he corners Jennifer on the boat, coupled with the close-ups of said Nightmare Face. Just, the imagery of that salivating, disfigured mouth and the guttural animal-like noises emanating from it. Thank God it didn't last that long.
  • Death by a straight-razor-wielding chimp. If Inga hadn't been domesticated, it would have been a lot worse.

The Bookseries:

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9788205408753_1467.jpg
Phenomena is, according to Gyldendal, a series meant for children 9 years and older. However, time and again, the books show a darker side that is more fit for Young Adult literature.
  • The Svelk that enters Ilke's brain.
    ”It is a lizard that lives in flocks in the Winterland,” said Sha-ra quietly. ”As a tiny larva, it crawls into an animal and lives off its blood until it is fully grown,” he went on.
    ”Is it dangerous?” asked Alk.
    ”When it is finished growing, it bites through the nerves leading to the head and then eats the animal it is living in,” said Sha-ra.
  • The 4th book's Norwegian cover as seen here
  • Of what we know of Sha-ra's past. His mother dies when he's very young and he and his brother is sent off to a wizard whom is going insane after not having got the chosen children. He works hard, unknown to him is his twin brother jealous. He gets the honor of carrying Phenomena and the castle. His brother burns down the castle and Sha-ra is left outside alone in the snow dying with only the Phenomena left. The 9th book is aparently going to show his whole past.
  • Arol, seeing the skins of his brother and father hanging on a wall and the one skinning them only says he's looking forward to have him around his waist, knowing that the Mortoks most likely have nothing under their pelts is that extra creepy.
  • Book 3's beginning. Also that there's aparently a guy who killed his brother for fun in Nidarosdomen. Some children in the area might find it hard to sleep after that...
  • Tarkan himself, think over it, he can control adults with evil thoughts. So if a child makes an adult angry, may he control that adult to kill the child...
  • Kheiko, the sword of truth, outright says that Alk is chosen is like Giving the Sword to a Noob. It talks, and only Alk can hear it, all the time. It's always honest, but can hide the truth. It can control it's wielder into killing, even if the wielder doesn't want to. And only claims Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!. No wonder Tarkan went mad after wielding it... Imagine having a coldblooded killer in your head, whom only you can hear...
  • Azur(pictured) slowly becoming a monster through his spin-off series. Especially when one remember the respect one have for the character whom is Alk and Ilke's friend.
  • The quicksand scene in book 2. It's actually terraqus'es whom drags them down to eat them alive, it's even illustrated. They even even ate Alk's ahmel first...
    • And when they can't eat Alk and Ilke do they eat their own Elder instead...
  • When the seapeople are on land for too long their skin will dry and they'll become violent and kill anyone in sight to kill them and eat them, even if it's one of their own. If this wasn't bad enough are they often fished up and used as slaves, and even if they manage to get back safely, does not the others have anything to do with them anymore.
  • Mijam, Ilke's Cool Big Sis and Alk's Childhood Friend Romance, going from being a cheerful girl to being really silent, not wanting any men to touch even her shoulder, not even Alk or her own father strongly suggesting something really awful has happened. It's not even bought up again, probably bacauce of the series 9+ status in Norway...

Top