History Literature / Grendel

* AdaptationalVillainy: Beowulf in the animated movie is even more malicious and creepy than in the book.

It was animated in Australia, under the title ''Grendel Grendel Grendel''.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Just to make it clear that Grendel has fully stepped into villain territory, he throws rocks at on a goat climbing up a rocky cliff, bludgeoning its skull until it dies.

* InMediasRes: The story begins with Adult Grendel knocking on Hrothgar's door and kidnapping 7 men to eat, and then cuts back to his childhood
* InnocenceLost: Grendel loses his when he leaves the Cave for the first time and gets trapped, his mother doesn't show up for days and he is attacked by an Ox and a pack of humans. This experience gives him a more nihilistic worldview.

* MookHorrorShow: The scene where Beowulf gets ahold of Grendel

* StrawCharacter: A variety of viewpoints are mocked. Particularly Religion

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Part of the reason Grendel turns on Humans despite relating to them a bit initially is that they keep attacking him and treating him like an abomination

* ForegoneConclusion: If you're familiar with the source material, you know Grendel dies at the end

* HumanoidAbomination: What Grendel perceives Beowulf as. Aside from his strength, Grendel can't help but notice something ''[[UncannyValley wrong]]'' about his face and shoulders, which isn't helped by Grendel's pain-induced hallucinations featuring Beowulf sprouting flaming wings.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Chapter 8 is formatted like a Play or a Poem with "Scene" labels every few paragraphs. There is also more Kenning even though the rest of the book never uses it

* ADogNamedDog: The Dragon's name is The Dragon, just like in [[Literature/{{Beowulf}} the source material]]

* VillainProtagonist: Starts off as more of a ByronicHero and then becomes this shortly after Grendel's [[OneSceneWonder one chapter conversation]] with the Dragon

* FamousLastWords: [[spoiler: The final sentence in the book: ''Poor Grendel's had an accident. So may you all'']].

* InnocenceLost: Grendel loses his when he leaves the Cave for the first time and gets trapped, his mother doesn't show up for days and he is attacked by an Ox and a pack of humans. This experience gives him a more nihilistic worldview

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop: In-Universe, the dragon's "lesson" for Grendel basically amounts to "everything in life sucks and you should be a bastard to everyone".

* MonsterSobStory

* * AlasPoorVillain: Grendel mourns the death of [[spoiler:the Shaper, the bard that created the myth of Grendel as a child of Cain]].

* StrawCharacter: A variety of viewpoints are mocked without a satisfactory rebuttal.

* VillainProtagonist

* ForgoneConclusion: If you're familiar with the source material, you know Grendel dies at the end

* {{Foreshadowing}} In the animated movie, the shaper sings an ironically happy song about Grendel and mentions that 'Removal of an arm or two would benefit us all'. This alludes to the method Beowulf uses to kill Grendel near the end of the film.

* Foreshadowing: In the animated movie, the shaper sings an ironically happy song about Grendel and mentions that 'Removal of an arm or two would benefit us all'. This alludes to the method Beowulf uses to kill Grendel near the end of the film.