Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* SecretSquatter: [[spoiler:Gary Madison works with the Pratmans as the therapist Clive, while secretly living in their attic.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* TheCavalryArrivesLate: Detective Dennison and several police cars arrive seconds after [[spoiler:Adam shoots Gary.]]
Added DiffLines:
* OldCopYoungCop: The plain-spoken Detective Atwater has graying hair and is ProperlyParanoid about the deaths, but EntertaininglyWrong about the culprit. His partner, detective Dennison, is a younger, friendlier man who gets excited at being in a newspaper photo (albeit blurry and in the background) and is inclined to write off the deaths as accidents due to feeling there are no logical suspects.
* OrphanageOfLove: Linda's real son is being kept in an orphanage with a decent facility that resembles a normal school, and an administrator who shows genuine concern for him despite his supposed relation to a SerialKiller.
* ParentsKnowTheirChildren: This is discussed when Linda gets Adam's DNA tested due to her correct suspicions he was SwitchedAtBirth.
--> '''Linda:''' I love Adam, but Dr. Hoyer, virtually from the day I gave birth I had this feeling that he wasn't mine. That he didn't belong to me, that he didn't come out of me.
* PermaStubble: Detective Dennison is always unshaven, but doesn't have a beard or mustache.
* OrphanageOfLove: Linda's real son is being kept in an orphanage with a decent facility that resembles a normal school, and an administrator who shows genuine concern for him despite his supposed relation to a SerialKiller.
* ParentsKnowTheirChildren: This is discussed when Linda gets Adam's DNA tested due to her correct suspicions he was SwitchedAtBirth.
--> '''Linda:''' I love Adam, but Dr. Hoyer, virtually from the day I gave birth I had this feeling that he wasn't mine. That he didn't belong to me, that he didn't come out of me.
* PermaStubble: Detective Dennison is always unshaven, but doesn't have a beard or mustache.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Crosswick Faint In shock
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* {{Fainting}}: Linda collapses after she finds [[spoiler:the housekeeper Margaret]]'s corpse.
to:
* {{Fainting}}: FaintInShock: Linda collapses after she finds [[spoiler:the housekeeper Margaret]]'s corpse.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* NotBloodSiblings: [[spoiler:Adam's biological parents]] were foster siblings.
-->'''[[spoiler:Connie]]''': He could have been my brother. But he didn't want to be my brother. He said I was the prettiest thing he ever saw. I was just a kid then, I didn't know anything! I was thirteen and wide-eyed!
-->'''[[spoiler:Connie]]''': He could have been my brother. But he didn't want to be my brother. He said I was the prettiest thing he ever saw. I was just a kid then, I didn't know anything! I was thirteen and wide-eyed!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* CreepyChild: Adam's face is mostly blank, except when he narrows his eyes creepily at people who've pissed him off. He also loves watching the true crime channel National Murder Network, which broadcasts graphic details and gory reenactments of recent murders, despite Linda's attempts to ban it.
to:
* CreepyChild: Adam's face is mostly blank, except when he narrows his eyes creepily at people who've pissed him off. He also loves watching the true crime channel National Murder Network, which broadcasts graphic details and gory reenactments of recent murders, despite Linda's attempts to ban it.it from the house.
Added DiffLines:
* FlashbackEffects: Linda's flashback to Adam's infancy is in monochrome, with echoey sound.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* AndStarring: "And Creator/MEmmetWalsh" and later "introducing "Matthew Dupuis."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added line(s) 9 (click to see context) :
* AsHimself: Chubby the dog is credited this way.
Changed line(s) 9 (click to see context) from:
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:The fate of poor Chubby the dog.]]
to:
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:The fate of poor Chubby the dog.Chubby.]]
Added DiffLines:
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: All the murders. Machinery malfunction, dumbwaiter failure, marbles on the stairs...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* TheBully: Manny, an older boy who takes piano lessons from Linda, force-feeds Adam dirt, then tells Linda, "I kept telling him not to put that dirt in his mouth, but he wouldn't listen!" [[spoiler:Naturally, he's found shot in the head while playing with Adam. His death is deemed to be an accident caused by playing with his father's gun.]]
Added DiffLines:
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Gary was believed to have died in a fire, but he was really living under a different identity.]]
* FreezeFrameEnding: The movie ends with a freeze-frame of Adam [[spoiler:pointing a stick shaped like a gun at Henry and saying, "Bang, you're dead."]]
* FreezeFrameEnding: The movie ends with a freeze-frame of Adam [[spoiler:pointing a stick shaped like a gun at Henry and saying, "Bang, you're dead."]]
Added DiffLines:
* SoftGlass: When [[spoiler:Adam shoots Gary]], he flies backward and crashes dramatically through the attic window.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler:Adam's therapist Clive is really his biological father, Gary Madison, who murdered the real Clive and left his body in a swamp.]]
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* EvilDetectingDog: Earl's dog Chubby, who barks at Adam every time he's in the room. [[spoiler:Although Chubby is really reacting to the presence of Garrett hiding in the attic.]]
to:
* EvilDetectingDog: Earl's dog Chubby, who barks at Adam every time he's in the room. [[spoiler:Although Chubby is really reacting to the presence of Garrett Gary hiding in the attic.]]
* FurnitureBlockade: Linda barricades herself [[spoiler:with Adam]] in the attic, pushing furniture over the trap door and pushing a chair under the doorknob of the main door. It only lasts a few seconds before [[spoiler:Gary kicks down the door]].
* GroinAttack: Linda does this to [[spoiler:Gary Madison]] before she runs into the attic.
* GroinAttack: Linda does this to [[spoiler:Gary Madison]] before she runs into the attic.
Changed line(s) 20 (click to see context) from:
* SerialKiller: [[spoiler:Adam's biological parents, Garrett and Connie Madison, are confirmed to have tortured 16 people to death, although they claim to have killed more than 40.]]
to:
* SerialKiller: [[spoiler:Adam's biological parents, Garrett Gary and Connie Madison, are confirmed to have tortured 16 people to death, although they claim to have killed more than 40.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BetterManhandleTheMurderWeapon: [[spoiler:Peter, who is completely innocent, is seen trying to remove a screwdriver from a victim's back. He's quickly arrested.]]
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:The fate of poor Chubby the dog.]]
* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:The fate of poor Chubby the dog.]]
Added DiffLines:
* StaircaseTumble: [[spoiler:Detective Atwater slips on marbles while running downstairs, falls to the bottom, and is knocked out, leaving him unable to defend himself against the murderer.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 4 (click to see context) from:
Two infants are SwitchedAtBirth, and a normal middle-class couple, Linda (Darlanne Fluegel) and Peter Pratman (Martin Neufeld), unknowingly find themselves raising the biological son of an insane SerialKiller. The boy, Adam (Matthew Dupuis), is diagnosed with autism, and at age four he shows little responsiveness aside from a talent for art. But he also displays an unnerving preoccupation with violence, and it isn't long before anyone who does anything to offend him starts turning up dead.
to:
Two infants are SwitchedAtBirth, and a normal middle-class couple, Linda (Darlanne Fluegel) and Peter Pratman (Martin Neufeld), unknowingly find themselves raising the biological son of an a violent, insane SerialKiller.criminal. The boy, Adam (Matthew Dupuis), is diagnosed with autism, and at age four he shows little responsiveness aside from a talent for art. But he also displays an unnerving preoccupation with violence, and it isn't long before anyone who does anything to offend him starts turning up dead.
Added DiffLines:
* SerialKiller: [[spoiler:Adam's biological parents, Garrett and Connie Madison, are confirmed to have tortured 16 people to death, although they claim to have killed more than 40.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DaddyDNATest: Linda eventually signs Adam up for one.
Added DiffLines:
* EvilDetectingDog: Earl's dog Chubby, who barks at Adam every time he's in the room. [[spoiler:Although Chubby is really reacting to the presence of Garrett hiding in the attic.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ScreamingBirth: Adam's mother screams nonstop for almost the entire opening scene, in contrast to Linda's more peaceful birth. Most of this is rage at the fact that her baby is going to be taken away, but at least some of it seems to be actual pain.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CreepyChild: Adam's face is mostly blank, except when he narrows his eyes creepily at people who've pissed him off. He also loves watching the true crime channel National Murder Network, which broadcasts graphic details and gory reenactments of recent murders, despite Linda's attempts to ban it.
Added DiffLines:
* {{Fainting}}: Linda collapses after she finds [[spoiler:the housekeeper Margaret]]'s corpse.
Added DiffLines:
* NightmareFuelColoringBook: Adam's book is filled with surprisingly good drawings of the grisly murders he sees on TV, and later the murders that occur around him. [[spoiler:He's actually trying to warn Linda by showing her what the real killer has done.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added line(s) 8 (click to see context) :
* CryIntoChest: Linda cries into Peter's chest after some of the murders.
* DiesWideOpen: After [[spoiler:Earl's life-support equipment is disconnected]], he thrashes around a bit before falling on the floor and dying with his eyes staring at the ceiling.
* DiesWideOpen: After [[spoiler:Earl's life-support equipment is disconnected]], he thrashes around a bit before falling on the floor and dying with his eyes staring at the ceiling.
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* NaughtyBirdwatching: Linda's father Earl uses the telescope he gets for his birthday to spy on female joggers.
to:
* NaughtyBirdwatching: Linda's father Earl (Creator/MEmmetWalsh) uses the telescope he gets for his birthday to spy on female joggers.
Added DiffLines:
* SpitefulSpit: Adam's mother spits on a doctor for taking her baby away.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:182:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/relative_fear.jpg]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
''Relative Fear'' is a 1994 Canadian psychological horror film written by Kurt Wimmer and directed by George Mihalka.
Two infants are SwitchedAtBirth, and a normal middle-class couple, Linda (Darlanne Fluegel) and Peter Pratman (Martin Neufeld), unknowingly find themselves raising the biological son of an insane SerialKiller. The boy, Adam (Matthew Dupuis), is diagnosed with autism, and at age four he shows little responsiveness aside from a talent for art. But he also displays an unnerving preoccupation with violence, and it isn't long before anyone who does anything to offend him starts turning up dead.
----
!!''Relative Fear'' contains examples of:
* EnfantTerrible: As a baby, Adam scratches his mother's face.
* NaughtyBirdwatching: Linda's father Earl uses the telescope he gets for his birthday to spy on female joggers.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: During his birthday party, Earl addresses Linda as "Katie," the name of his dead wife.
* TimeSkip: After the opening scene, the movie skips ahead four years.
* TitleIn: "Four Years Later"
----
Two infants are SwitchedAtBirth, and a normal middle-class couple, Linda (Darlanne Fluegel) and Peter Pratman (Martin Neufeld), unknowingly find themselves raising the biological son of an insane SerialKiller. The boy, Adam (Matthew Dupuis), is diagnosed with autism, and at age four he shows little responsiveness aside from a talent for art. But he also displays an unnerving preoccupation with violence, and it isn't long before anyone who does anything to offend him starts turning up dead.
----
!!''Relative Fear'' contains examples of:
* EnfantTerrible: As a baby, Adam scratches his mother's face.
* NaughtyBirdwatching: Linda's father Earl uses the telescope he gets for his birthday to spy on female joggers.
* ScatterbrainedSenior: During his birthday party, Earl addresses Linda as "Katie," the name of his dead wife.
* TimeSkip: After the opening scene, the movie skips ahead four years.
* TitleIn: "Four Years Later"
----
