History Film / Chronicle

Following the film's success, a sequel was planned with Landis returning to write, but complications ensued in the years to come that led to a new writer being hired. Trank further admitted in 2020 that he was completely disinterested in making a sequel as well as seeing another director try their hand at one. In August 2021, producer John Davis announced that a sequel was being made; little has been revealed about the film, save that its leads will be women, it will be set 10 years after the original film, and its themes will include fake news and coverups.

* AbusiveParents: Richard Detmer is extremely physically and emotionally abusive to Andrew, especially in his final scene, where it seems like he might finally show some love and sympathy towards his son, only to [[spoiler:blame him completely for his mother's death and make his hatred for him clear.]]

* ImplacableMan: At the end, [[spoiler:Andrew is burned, thrown into the sidewalk at high velocity multiple times, collides with a streetlamp, falls onto a car, and ''keeps on going'']].

* IronicEcho: "I'm stronger than this." Stated initially by Andrew with encouragement from his mother in reference to the hardships he's going through in life. Repeated again when he [[spoiler: goes on his rampage in the end, with his new "apex predator" philosophy.]]

** Andrew has a lot of moments where it counts -- when he didn't think it was wrong to veer a car off the road; [[spoiler:after he accidentally killed Steve; when he videotaped Steve's funeral; when he tears a spider limb-from-limb for no reason; and when he gives that Apex Predator speech ("A lion doesn't feel guilty when it eats a gazelle")]].

* LeaveMeAlone: [[spoiler: Delivered by Andrew, right before Steve is killed and right before he blows the police surrounding him away in the climax.]]

* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Discussed by the boys once they find out that Andrew's a virgin, with Steve calling it "completely unacceptable". Steve convinces Andrew to do the talent show as he could use the newfound popularity to meet new people, specifically girls, and he takes great pride in Andrew when this plan succeeds and it seems like he's about to score, remarking that Andrew will "become a man". [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, however, as a last-second reversal of fortune on Andrew's end turns things into a complete disaster.]]

** Matt wears a T-shirt featuring the logo of the starship ''[[Film/{{Alien}} Nostromo]]''.

* TheToothHurts: [[spoiler:Andrew telekinetically rips out three of one of his bullies' teeth. Shortly afterward, the audience is treated to a detailed explanation from him of how it was done, up to and including a mention about how two of the teeth were accidentally broken in half when they came out.]]

* CreepySouvenir: When Andrew [[spoiler:attacks one of his bullies, he winds up taking a collection of his ripped-out teeth and presenting them to the camera in the school bathroom. However, when the bell rings, he quickly disposes of them.]]

** At the rave, Andrew says that he doesn't drink. This causes him to vomit at the house party when he has too much to drink.

* FingerGun: Andrew uses one to [[ThisBananaIsArmed knock out a local gang member.]]
* {{Fingore}}: Matt gets a bit of one finger blown off when the police fire on him and Andrew.

* AGodAmI: Downplayed, but not by much, as Andrew's self-comparison to a natural apex predator is all the justification he needs to start using his powers to openly victimize those weaker than him. His IronicEcho during the climax further lampshades this.

* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Discussed by the boys once they find out that Andrew's a virgin, with Steve calling it "completely unacceptable". Steve convinces Andrew to do the talent show as he could use the newfound popularity to meet new people, specifically girls; when this plan succeeds and Andrew seems lined up to score, Steve takes great pride in him, remarking that Andrew will "become a man". [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, however, as their entire ploy ends up as a complete disaster.]]

* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler:Steve is the most consistently easy-going and friendly character in the movie, who is also the most laid-back about his powers. Interestingly, it is with his death that things go seriously down-hill and Andrew's descent into madness begins in earnest.]]
* ShootTheDog: Literally in the original script by none other than Andrew.

** "The Baseball Test", an experiment the boys do with their powers, smacks of ''Series/{{Jackass}}''. The found footage style certainly helps.

** When Steve rescues the trucker in the first truly heroic act in the movie, his wet blue sweatshirt makes him look an awful lot like Superman (or Human Torch).
** The strange object that gave them powers looks straight out of the planet [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Krypton.]]
** Steve reads aloud the definition of 'telekinesis', much like Film/{{Carrie|1976}} does.

* StalkingIsLove: When Matt confesses to stalking Casey, she is definitely more turned on than creeped out. It's somewhat lampshaded when Matt chuckles and admits he shouldn't have used the word 'stalking'. More likely it was his own awkward way of admitting to having a crush on her.

* SuperHeroOrigin: By the end of the film, [[spoiler:Matt has experienced a MyGreatestFailure (having to kill his cousin in order to save a lot of other people's lives), is motivated by that experience to learn more about the origin and nature of his powers, and is in ''Tibet'', which is basically Memetic Dagobah for budding superheroes.]]

* SuperSupremacist: [[spoiler:Andrew and two of his friends gain superpowers from an alien EldritchAbomination. Due to several tragedies in his life, [[SanitySlippage Andrew's sanity slowly degrades]] over the course of the film and he starts espousing social darwinist ideas by calling himself an "apex predator", and later goes on a rampage against {{Muggles}}.]]
* {{Tagline}}: [[http://www.missmalini.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/chronicle1.jpg "Not all heroes are super."]], [[http://mimg.ugo.com/201201/3/8/7/216783/cuts/chronicle1_480_poster.jpg "It's all fun and games until everybody gets hurt."]], [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bpM6qMSGPRU/TqDRW7sEOBI/AAAAAAAA-kY/YBXHfN_pfUA/s1600/iaza19293998622200.jpg "What are you capable of?"]], and of course the page image [[http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/2011/09/Chronicle-2012-Movie-Poster4.jpg "Boys will be boys."]]

* TeensAreMonsters: At first, some teens are shown to be bullies, hoodlums, or simply inconsiderate assholes, but all of this is within normal limits. [[spoiler:Then, Andrew loses his shit, and this trope is set loose]].
* TheToothHurts: A bully gets a few teeth telekinetically ripped out. Shortly after it happens, the audience is treated to a detailed explanation of how it was done, up to and including a mention about how two of the teeth were accidentally broken in half when they came out.

** Andrew during his SanitySlippage telekinetically slams a clerk against the wall before robbing him of his cash. Despite this demonstration of supernatural abilities, the clerk rushes out at Andrew with a shotgun in tow. This doesn't end well for him.
** Richard, thinking Andrew is incapacitated beyond being able to retaliate, attempts to perform a little KickTheDog action on his son while he's seemingly barely conscious in a hospital bed. It doesn't go so well for him, either. Mind you, even if Richard had been successful, there was a friggin' camera right there in Andrew's room that was being monitored by the cops and recording the whole interaction.

* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler: Andrew can't be stopped by almost anything in the end, with police being reduced to mere spectators of his rampage and Matt barely keeping up with defending himself from all the incoming blows]].
* VillainHasAPoint:

* DecoyProtagonist: Soon after [[spoiler:Andrew snaps]], we switch the point of view to [[spoiler:Matt. Possibly foreshadowed during Matt's "apology" scene with Casey as recorded by ''her'' camera, while Andrew is nowhere around. From then on, we repeatedly see things from Matt's perspective, setting him up as the kid with a conscience. This narratively puts him on a collision course with Andrew.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: So, Andrew is now [[spoiler:the king of the school, after the "illusions" and "magic tricks" he and Steve did at the talent show. Finally getting some real popularity, he attends a giant party at Steve's house, and ends up going with a girl for "private time." Sadly, between (most likely) nerves and too much alcohol, he loses his lunch. His school image is actually WORSE than it used to be, with fresh fodder for teasing. After some telekinetic dentistry on school bullies, he gets yelled at by his cousin over the abuse of power. He ''then'' gets yelled at by his father, who had discovered his camera, who says that the other boys "aren't his friends", and that they were having fun at his expense instead of with him. Despite finally standing up to his father during the fight, that one part sinks in, and is the part that pushes Andrew into full misanthropy. And just in case that wasn't enough, after Murphy's Law seems to have been fulfilled and Andrew is lying in a hospital bed, having likely caused his best friend's and possibly even his mother's deaths... his dad takes this opportunity to berate him. Which turns out to be an unspeakably bad idea. Cue the climax.]]

* EvilCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:Andrew's firefighting gear and gas mask make for a nice little makeshift supervillain costume]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: [[spoiler: When Andrew goes amok in the climax, he starts yelling a lot and his voice gets deeper]].

** During the toy store scene, [[spoiler: Andrew]] holds a red lightsaber like the one used by [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader]]. Also, evidently, a ShoutOut. Andrew has a [[http://i.imgur.com/aYQx7.jpg helmeted knight with a red sword taped to his wall]], another apparent reference.
** During the Lego scene, Andrew builds a model of the Seattle Space Needle, the location of the climax. [[spoiler:Contrary to the end of that scene, though, the Needle survives.]]
** At the rave, Andrew says that he doesn't drink. This causes him to vomit at the party when he has too much to drink.

** [[spoiler:Why Richard, do you finally seem to care about your son when he's in a coma? Oh, you don't, you're just here to heap some more abuse on the pile.]]

* IdiotBall: Andrew gets one at the Apex Predator speech. Also, qualifies when he forgets that sending a man driving down a ravine is likely going to cause some major injuries.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The final fate of [[spoiler:Andrew to stop his rampage]].
* ImplacableMan: At the end, Andrew is burned, thrown into the sidewalk at high velocity multiple times, collides with a streetlamp, falls onto a car, and ''keeps on going''.
* InsaneTrollLogic: Richard wordlessly barges into Andrew's room and slaps him out of his seat [[EstablishingCharacterMoment in his first onscreen scene]]. He rationalizes it by screaming that Andrew should "open the door when I say so". This goes to demonstrate how Richard's [[TheAlcoholic drinking problem]] has rendered him increasingly detached from reality, and it foreshadows what he says to Andrew during the [[spoiler: hospital scene.]]
* InUniverseCamera: Used consistently throughout the movie. Editing is achieved by jumping from camera to camera, including security cameras and cellphones. Also, even though the cameras are in universe, they are still able to film sections of it like a typical third person movie by having Andrew use his powers to levitate various cameras around. It's implied that [[spoiler: Andrew starts doing this unconsciously. Towards the end, he steals all the cameras and smartphones from every bystander in the Space Needle, for no real purpose other than to perhaps clinically document his rampage. He then seems to do the same thing with the cops, taking their dashboard and helmet cameras. Matt foreshadows/lampshades this early on when he says that the camera is like a barrier between Andrew and the world. Andrew's reply? "Maybe I want a barrier."]]
* IronicEcho: "I'm stronger than this". Stated initially by Andrew in reference to [[spoiler: the hardship he's going through in life.]] Repeated again when he [[spoiler: goes on his rampage, with his new 'apex predator' philosophy.]]
* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: Three teenagers accidentally get superpowers just because they decide to check out a weird-looking cavern. [[spoiler:The source of their superpowers is never even explained.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: It doesn't take much to realize that Andrew's father, Richard, is simply using his son as an outlet for venting his stress and passing blame for his family's financial issues from himself. He even calls Andrew selfish for keeping an expensive camera (that was a gift from his cousin) from him (after said camera caught him searching through his son's room, clearly looking for money). True, he does care deeply for his wife and wants to help get her the treatment she needs, but that raises the question as to why he can't stop spending money on alcohol rather than blaming everything on his son. The fact that when we first hear his voice he's established to be a belligerent alcoholic that is essentially responsible for Andrew's instability doesn't help either.
-->'''Richard:''' You're hoarding a five-hundred dollar camera from me while your mother is dying and every penny of mine goes to your school!

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: When Richard [[spoiler:comes to see an injured Andrew in the hospital, he starts crying by his bedside]]. Seems like he actually [[spoiler:feels bad about what happened to his son]]. We then find out [[spoiler:he's crying because Andrew's mom died, and proceeds to blame Andrew for it.]]

* JustHitHim: Andrew would have succeeded in [[spoiler: killing his abusive father]] had he just done a telekinetic dismemberment or such rather than drop him from a great height, [[spoiler: which allowed Matt to save the man.]]
* KarmaHoudini: Richard. [[spoiler: Even the death of his wife and his son doesn't cover the sheer volume of bad karma he had accumulated. Though his last act of abuse against a hospitalized Andrew is seen and heard from the camera the police placed in Andrew's room. Given that said abuse triggers the rampage that lays waste to Seattle, the police may have a few questions for Richard about it.]]
* KickTheDog:
** Andrew has a lot of moments where it counts -- [[spoiler:when he didn't think it was wrong to veer a car off the road; after he accidentally killed Steve; when he videotaped Steve's funeral; when he tears a spider limb-from-limb for no reason; and when he gives that Apex Predator speech ("A lion doesn't feel guilty when it eats a gazelle").]]
** Richard seems like he's ''finally'' about to show some emotions about [[spoiler:Andrew's mom's death]] when he starts breaking down. Instead, he tells the grief-stricken Andrew that [[spoiler:it's his fault and he can't do anything right]].
* KickTheMoralityPet: [[spoiler:Andrew gets Steve killed during an angry lashout. [[SubvertedTrope He never recovers from the downward spiral this event started]].]]

* LeaveMeAlone: [[spoiler: Delivered by Andrew, right before he blows the police surrounding him away.]]

* LoserFriendPuzzlesOutsiders: Steve's girlfriend has this reaction toward him suddenly spending so much time with Matt and Andrew, respectively a known pot-head and a favourite chew toy of local bullies. As Steve puts it himself, he enjoys how cool their company is and how much they can enjoy themselves together, ''despite'' their obvious differences.
* MaddenIntoMisanthropy: [[spoiler: Andrew,]] and not in the funny ComedicSociopathy kind of way. By the end of the film he gleefully kills people left and right just because he ''can''.

* MirrorCharacter: Richard and Andrew. Both are immature who care deeply for the same woman. Both of them are struggling with depression and massive inferiority complexes. [[PayEvilUntoEvil Neither show mercy towards those they deem deserving of punishment]]. One could even reason that Andrew's telekinesis and constant filming become as much of an addiction for him as alcohol is for his father. However both are still very different from each other.

* MundaneUtility: All over the place, including Steve floating food to his mouth, Andrew doing magic tricks, Andrew operating his camera telekinetically (even as Matt and Steve keep on using their hands for this,) and Andrew moving puddles out of his path. There's even a deleted scene [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEZxS6yL4_M here]] that shows Matt telekinetically stirring his milkshake.

** Richard blames Andrew for the fact that [[spoiler: his wife and Andrew's mother dies from not receiving her medication. In truth, Andrew had attempted to go and get the medication from the pharmacy, but did not have the funds for it, as Richard had been wasting the money on alcohol.]] Richard's inability to accept responsibility for this [[spoiler: is the final catalyst for Andrew's rampage, starting with Andrew attempting to kill him while [[VillainHasAPoint pointing out his constant abuse made him this way to begin with]].]]
** Andrew himself. He has very hard time taking any sort of responsibility or facing consequences of his actions. Just recall his entire reaction after the trucker scene and how he would rather bail the place, rather than call police and report the accident. And it only goes worse from there... Except maybe when [[spoiler: he ends up killing Steve by accident, [[VillainHasAPoint and getting fed up with Richard for the above]]]].

** During one of their early stunts, the boys completely lose control of their flight, until [[spoiler: Andrew]] manages to steady up juuust in time to catch the rest of the pack and land safely.
** Averted when [[spoiler: Matt noticeably uses his telekinesis to halt the falling Richard before catching him.]]

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Near the beginning of the film, Andrew has his camera out while eating lunch and it is pointed at the cheerleaders while they are practicing. One of the cheerleaders comes to Andrew and tells him not to videotape them because it is creepy. Andrew's reaction is all but saying this trope.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler: Andrew]]'s ''modus operandi'' before JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope. Specifically: when Andrew [[spoiler: beats up his abusive father, when he tears Wayne the bully's teeth out, takes his revenge on the hoodlums, and when he tries to kill his father by dropping him from high in the air.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: In the climax, [[spoiler: Matt tries to approach Andrew, who lashes out at him asking why he saved his father, who he was trying to drop from a building, without telling Matt [[AbusiveParents his reason for doing so]]. Matt is clearly confused by this question, implying he wasn't aware of the abuse Andrew was going through at home. To him, it seems Andrew has simply lost his mind and is attacking Seattle for no apparent reason. Though another way to look at it is that if Matt ''was'' aware to some extent, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Andrew wouldn't understand why he would save him anyway]]]].
* PowerPerversionPotential: It's teen goofs with superpowers. The preview hangs a lampshade on it.

** Steven implies that he uses his power to "vibrate" his girlfriend.

* ReedRichardsIsUseless: Type 2. Despite having magic powers that ''far'' exceed anything that could be done with a trick and a good imagination for them, Andrew is so put upon he doesn't try to use his powers for more than other solutions. It would be a different movie if he chose to get media attention for the "fame and money" angle rather than "talent shows and fun."

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: By Andrew.

* SanitySlippage: Andrew definitely.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: Casey is notable in that being a Satellite Love Interest was a cover for her actual role in the film; to provide another camera for the film's [[FoundFootageFilms Found Footage]] style. Ironically, she clearly has more depth than he does near the start, and they seem to have some offscreen development of their relationship.

* SecretIdentity: Subverted. [[spoiler: Andrew goes out to rob the neighborhood thugs dressed in his father's old fire-fighting gear with face-concealing mask]]. [[PaperThinDisguise They recognize him instantly by his voice and his distinctive backpack]].
* SelfMadeOrphan: Subverted. [[spoiler: Andrew almost succeeds in killing his father, but, as he falls from a great height, he is rescued by Matt]].
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:There are subtle hints that the government is not unaware of the source of the boys' powers, and Matt promises to "find out what happened." Also ''somebody'' had to collect all that footage and splice it together. Who else do you think would have gone to all the trouble to dig up Andrew's first camera, that got buried with the meteorite/artifact?]]. A sequel has been confirmed as being in the works. Unfortunately, neither Josh Trank nor Max Landis will be involved with the sequel, as Fox wasn't happy with Max's script he had made for it.
* SexAsRiteOfPassage: It's discussed by the boys [[spoiler: and ultimately subverted, when their entire ploy to get Andrew laid ends up as a complete disaster.]]

* ArcWords: "You're stronger than this." First said by Andrew's mother to reassure him. Given an IronicEcho at the end, after Andrew [[spoiler:goes off the deep end.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Matt kills Andrew before he can cause any more damage, but several people have been killed, including Steve, and we are left with the lingering sense that Andrew's downfall could have been prevented.]] Also Matt is now alone, injured and implied to be on the run from the government, meaning that he won't be able to return to Seattle and reunite with Casey.

* BondBreaker: Ultimately, [[spoiler:Andrew, for choosing to take his father's BreakingSpeech on "they're not your friends" to heart and starts distancing himself from the rest, especially after Steve dies]].

* BullyingADragon: Throughout most of the film, Andrew's father has no idea Andrew has his new powers. Then Andrew grows a backbone, and [[CallingTheOldManOut calls out his dad]] on the "wasting money on public school" bullcrap. Andrew's father snaps, and attempts to indulge in some [[AbusiveParents child abuse]]. Andrew [[CurbStompBattle wins.]] Later, after Andrew is in the hospital, his father attempts to do the ''exact'' same thing, the only difference is that he thinks Andrew is [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown unconscious]]. This goes [[TooDumbToLive about as well as you would expect.]]

** During the climax which was filmed from multiple cameras, many of them end up getting smashed.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Andrew's constantly in conflict with his JerkAss father, but for the most part he's too browbeaten to seriously call him out... up until Richard accuses Andrew of wasting his money on public school.

* CharacterDevelopment: Matt goes from [[spoiler: standing around and telling Steve to be careful when Steve dives into the raging river to save the guy in the car Andrew crashed, to unhesitatingly rescuing Richard when Andrew drops him.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Andrew explains how his father used to be a firefighter. [[spoiler:Andrew wears his father's old firefighting gear during a string of robberies, the last of which ends in a fiery explosion at a gas station. The firefighting gear he was wearing also saved his life when the explosion happened. He was literally on fire after the explosion, and the heat-resistant clothing probably reduced the damage he received.]]

* ColdBloodedTorture: Andrew [[spoiler:rips a spider apart for fun and gets back at the kids who bulled him by ripping their teeth out.]]

* CoolKidAndLoserFriendship: Steve and Andrew, respectively. Steve is ''the'' BigManOnCampus, Andrew is one of the pick-up kids, yet they very easily bond together. Notably, Steve was emphatic toward barely-known to him Andrew even before they bonded over their powers. As they discuss the matter (and they tend to do that a lot, due to Andrew's insecurity), Steve notes that Andrew is a cool person to hang with, while their abilities are just a bonus to how much he enjoys spending time together. Big part of the story is how the boys interact and how much Steve tries to help Andrew both open up and stand for himself.

** DoubleSubverted and {{Deconstructed}}. At first, the kids never think of using their powers for the common good, as opposed to shits and giggles. Then, after the incident with the trucker, Matt lays down the rules for the ethical use of superpowers (see MindOverManners below); the kids still don't use their powers to help people, but at least stop dicking around with them. Then, [[spoiler:after Andrew loses his shit, Matt inadvertently becomes a true hero but his motivation is entirely personal; he saves Seattle from destruction at the hands of his cousin]].

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Andrew genuinely seems to love his father and want to make him happy. Richard is dealing with the loss of his job as a firefighter and his wife's terminal cancer, which turns him into an alcoholic with an IrrationalHatred of Andrew that results in Richard's abusive behavior towards his son and [[spoiler: his own comeuppance by Andrew after Richard pushes his now-superpowered son to his limits]].
* CreepySouvenir: When Andrew [[spoiler:attacks his bullies, he winds up creating a collection of teeth. However, when the bell rings, he quickly disposes of them.]]

** Also of super villains, in that the film takes a closer look at what would drive someone to become one.
** The final battle also does a fantastic one on Hero/Villain battles and shows just how terrifying and destructive one would be in real life. Notably it is clear that the SWAT teams and other police officers seem to view the heroic [[spoiler: Matt]] and villainous [[spoiler: Andrew]] as equally dangerous.
** At the same time though it's a bit of a {{Reconstruction}}. Andrew's development is very similar to classic, TragicMonster supervillains, with his fall into violence causing [[spoiler: Matt's transition into a classic, responsible superhero.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: In the climax, [[spoiler: Matt tries to approach Andrew, who lashes out at him asking why he saved his father, who he was trying to drop from a building, [[YouKnowWhatYouDid without telling Matt]] [[AbusiveParents his reason]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch for doing so]]. Matt is clearly confused by this question, implying he wasn't aware of the abuse Andrew was going through at home. To him, it seems Andrew has simply lost his mind and is attacking Seattle for no apparent reason. Though another way to look at it is that if Matt ''was'' aware to some extent, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Andrew wouldn't understand why he would save him anyway]]]].

* MookHorrorShow: The Neighborhood Drug Dealers who tried to mock him wind up running away screaming the moment he kills one of them.

majority of the battle running for their lives while Andrew came dangerously close in leveling an entire city.

* SpiritualSuccessor: More than a few reviewers have pointed out how the film draws on similar elements and themes from Stephen King's ''Carrie''.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** The whole film is this to ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' and other teen superheroes. [[spoiler: In that story, the angsty teenage outcast who gets superpowers winds up learning about his great responsibility and heroically fighting all manner of dastardly evil. Andrew, however, acts exactly like one would expect an angsty teenage outcast to act when given superpowers. It doesn't help that instead of an Uncle Ben, Andrew is stuck with an abusive, raging alchoholic for a parental figure.]]
** As the only one who [[spoiler:both survives and learns his lesson]], Matt is a {{Reconstruction}}. Also, [[spoiler: considering that he actually cares about his cousin and was trying to steer him in the right direction, he might be the real Uncle Ben of the story.]]
** The movie also plays things much more different than classic depictions of teens displaying their powers. In the mall, while the three kids are [[{{Superdickery}} just messing around,]] it's pretty funny and cool to see their powers. During [[spoiler: the trucker scene, it is ''decidedly'' not funny]] - and in fact, Matt and Steve are both horrified of what Andrew did, ''then'' giving him a dressing down after they rescue the poor driver.
** While Steve is having great time with Andrew and Matt, as a result, he's neglecting his girlfriend. She gives him a dressing down over it, expecting he's hiding an affair rather than simply goofing around ''for weeks'' with two people he barely knew before.
** Flying without a transponder is ''extremely'' dangerous. Doubly so if you are a human being, a tiny speck on the sky. [[spoiler: And flying during a storm is a great way to end up hit by a lighting and die]]. On top of all that, it's simply cold up there, so the boys end up freezing before they start packing winter clothing.
** The fame and acclaim Andrew received during the talent show is just that - a very brief jump in popularity, that doesn't even lasts a single day. Him getting wasted during the celebration didn't even play a role to how everyone still considers him "that weird, silent kid".
** From the POV of an innocent bystander the battle between Matt and Andrew isn't glorious. It's outright terrifying as the civilians spend the majority of the battle running for their lives while Andrew came dangerously close in leveling an entire city.

* BulletCatch: Andrew successfully does this while [[spoiler: rampaging through Seattle, catching massed automatic fire from a SWAT team. Then he flings them all ''back'', along with the police cruisers and the offiers firing at him]].

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Andrew does this several times. First, he retaliates on one of his bullies by telekinetically plucking out his teeth. He also unleashes his powers on Richard a couple of times when provoked, [[spoiler:with the second instance nearly resulting in a DisneyVillainDeath for Richard]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: The original script, where [[spoiler: Andrew rips his father apart just like the spider, Matt stabs Andrew with the spear but Andrew's ''still alive'' so Matt shoots him in the head, and the government captures Matt and keeps him in a cell while he's injured and screaming for them to help him.]] [[SoleSurvivor Matt]] still lives, but ''yikes''.

* SuperHero: An arguable example, to say the least. The question of whether ''Chronicle'' is a superhero movie or not is highly debatable. Despite the [[NotUsingTheZWord word "superhero" or "superpowers" never being mentioned]], the way the boys gain their power is heavily reminiscent of Creator/MarvelComics classics (particularly Franchise/SpiderMan and the ComicBook/FantasticFour), and the further dynamic of the film, particularly the third act, cements this impression. On the other hand, writer Max Landis has appeared a bit disconcerted by the label being applied, stating that, by the standards applied to ''Chronicle'', ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}'' and ''Film/{{Firestarter}}'' would be considered superhero movies if they came out today.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Matt kills Andrew before he can cause any more damage, but several people have been killed, including Steve, and we are left with the lingering sense that Andrew's downfall could have been prevented.]] Also Matt is now alone, injured and implied to be on the run from the government meaning that he won't be able to return to Seattle and reunite with Casey.

* CameraScrew: The strange object causes the camera to behave erratically.

* SaveTheVillain: In the climax, Matt arrives on the scene [[BigDamnHeroes just in time]] to save Richard from being dropped to his doom by Andrew. Richard's abuse on Andrew, from his smacking Andrew at the tiniest perceived slight to his telling Andrew that Matt and Steve weren't really his friends right up to the moment that led to his current situation, was what ultimately caused Andrew to snap and go into full-on [[ThenLetMeBeEvil villain-mode]].

* FuneralCut: The film cuts to a funeral to establish [[spoiler: Steve]]'s death after [[spoiler: being struck in the thunderstorm by Andrew]].

However, the combination of powers beyond their wildest dreams and long-stewing issues within the group turns out to produce destructive results, and they soon discover that the gifts they have been granted may be drawing out their darker and more dangerous sides...

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Andrew does this several times. First, he retaliates on one of his tormentors by telekinetically plucking out the bully's teeth. He also unleashes his powers on Richard a couple of times when provoked, with the second instance nearly resulting in a DisneyVillainDeath for Richard.

* AGodAmI: Downplayed, but not by much, as Andrew's self-comparison to a natural apex predator is all the justification he needs to start using his powers to openly victimize those weaker than him.

* TheSocialDarwinist: [[spoiler:Andrew develops this mindset after Steve dies. His "Apex Predator" speech makes it clear how much he succumbed into considering himself above everything and everyone.]]