Theatre / Nerdy Prudes Must Die

"High school. Housed in these halls are horrors most foul.
Homework.
Gym class.
Brenda and her stupid friends.
But for the students of Hatchetfield High... the phrase 'school spirit' hits different..."

Nerdy Prudes Must Die is a Horror Comedy musical by Team Starkid. It is their thirteenth show and the third theatrical entry in the Hatchetfield saga. The show ran at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles from February 16-25, 2023. The recording of the show was released on Youtube on October 13th, 2023.

Something supernatural is stalking the halls of Hatchetfield High, and it's got a grudge against nerdy prudes! When the school's biggest losers start dropping like flies, Grace Chasity (Angela Giarratana), Stephanie Lauter (Mariah Rose Faith), and Peter Spankoffski (Joey Richter) must band together to survive the onslaught.

Nerdy Prudes Must Die contains the following tropes:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Max to Grace, or so it would seem...
• Abusive Parents: Downplayed, but Max seems to have these.
  Max: Maybe I should just run. Where, Max? Back home so dad can call you a little cuck? Can't even fight off one lousy skeleton?
  • He also thinks that Steph, Pete, Grace, Ruth and Richie trying to scare the shit out of him is "Like, the nicest thing anyone's ever done for [him]." Low bar...
  • Played straight with Steph. Mayor Lauter absolutely loathes her, and clearly keeps her around only because it would tarnish his public image not to.
• And There Was Much Rejoicing: An unintended silver lining of Max's death is that Hatchetfield High becomes an objectively happier place, especially because bullying completely stops without Max there to perpetuate it.
• Anti-Love Song: "If I Loved You", a duet between Pete and Steph. Its brief reprise in what is more properly a reprise of "Cool As I Think I Am" serves as their love confession.
• Bathtub Scene: When Grace takes a bath, she has a musical fantasy about Max getting in the tub with her. She ends up putting off bathing to avoid this because it keeps happening.
• Big "NO!":
  • Steph has this reaction when her dad is about to smash her phone with a hammer, complete with Diving Save to shield it with her hand.
  • Max lets out one followed by a Rapid-Fire "No!" just before the Lords claim his soul and drag him into the Black.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Max gives one to the audience when he comes onstage during the applause after "Cool As I Think I Am".
• Big "WHAT?!":
  • This is Pete's response to Steph asserting that she knows he's crazy about her.
  • Richie lets out a Big "NANI?!" upon being told that Peter is talking to Steph on the phone.
• Bittersweet Ending: Hatchetfield (and the world at large) is saved from Max's wrath by the Lords in Black who drag him to their realm. And because the lords accepted Grace Chasity giving up her virginity as a worthy trade, Steph didn't have to kill Peter, and the two ended up together, after all. However, Grace still has the Black Book in her possession and, corrupted by its power, begins to target "pervy dudes" so she can kill them and harness their souls. While not quite as apocalyptic as the previous two musicals, it's clear things are far from over.
• Blame Game: "Hatchet Town" features the entire town pointing fingers at each other as they panic about the serial killer on the loose, naming everyone else as the culprit.
• Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: When Grace says: "I've done so many horrible things like touching myself and lying to the police."
  Steph: And dismembering a body?
  Grace: Well, we all did that, so...
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Besides Starkid's now-typical use of the audience's space to run around and interact with objects, the character of Max directly yells at the audience to shut up when he enters in the middle of an applause break.
• Brick Joke: When the nerds crow about their plan to prank Max, Ruth proclaims that they'll "cut of his nips." When it goes horribly wrong and they have to dismember and hide his body Ruth really does cut his nipples off.
• Bring My Brown Pants: Invoked by the prudes, who lure Max Jagerman into the old Waylon house to prank and scare him in the hopes that he'll soil himself and they can film it.
• Call-and-Response Song: Invoked during the title song by Max, who demands that Richie repeat certain lyrics after him as part of the torment he inflicts before murdering Richie.
  Max: (spoken) I want you to repeat after me!
  Richie: Okay.
  Max: (sung) Who will pray for me?
  Richie: Who will pray for me?
  Max: When I'm gone?
  Richie: When I'm gone?
  Max: Or until another Richie comes along?
  Richie: (spoken) ...Can you repeat that one?
• Call-Back:
  • Peter snaps at Emma that he feels like he's been waiting for five years for Emma to bring him a hot chocolate. In-universe, of course, their last interaction was merely two years ago. And in a different timeline.
  • Tinky mentions that he'd like to have the whole set of Spankoffskis in his toy box when he sees Pete.
• The Cameo:
  • Jeff Blim makes a few voice-over cameos over the school intercom.
  • Davis Hamilton and Virginia Vass, the stage show's understudies, appear in small roles throughout the filmed version's Act 2: Davis replaces the cop played by Corey Dorris in one scene, both are reporters appearing just before the number "Hatchet Town" (Virginia given the lines originally spoken by Bryce Charles's reporter, while Bryce takes over again for the song itself), and both appear in the background at homecoming.
  • In the filmed version of the song "Hatchet Town", the accusations the characters onstage fling at each other in the stage and soundtrack version are instead directed at established Hatchetfield characters played by actors who aren't in this particular show, giving us brief cameos from Jae Hughes as Ziggs, Jeff Blim as the Man in a Hurry, James Tolbert as Charles, and Dylan Saunders as Gerald Monroe.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The mascot of Hatchetfield High School is Zeke the Fighting Nighthawk. The name Zeke is traditionally short for Ezekiel, which was the name of the leader of the talking nighthawks from the Nightmare Time episode "Perky's Buds".
  • The Smoke Club and their iconic two-cigarettes-at-once dance are once again referenced, making them three-for-three in Hatchetfield's main installments.
  • Pokey's question, "What do you want, Steph?" is a clear reference to The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals.
  • Tinky eagerly remarking about how if he claims Peter's soul he'll have 'the whole set' of Spankoffskis in his 'toy box' is a clear call back to the ending of Nightmare Time's "Time Bastard."
  • The dialogue of Richie and Pete talking about the latter potentially hooking up with Ruth contains multiple references to dialogue in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, with Joey Richter and Jon Matteson's lines swapped around.
• Creepy Loner Girl: Ruth has shades of this. She expresses her extreme loneliness and craving for attention in a few fairly creepy ways, such as telling Steph that she's in love with her in their first interaction and begging telemarketers to stay on the phone with her.
• Crisis of Faith: Grace appears to have a brief but intense one when her conversation with the police goes south. She regrets it in the next scene.
• Crosscast Role: Though the Lords in Black are always present as masculine, in this appearance Blinky is played by Lauren Lopez and Nibbly by Kim Whalen. As the only male cast member not in this scene is Will Branner, who would have been decked out in his "Ghost of Max" makeup at this point, there was really no way for more than three of the five Lords to be played by men. That being said, the two of them do seem to be manifesting as teenage girls going by their attire.
• Crowd Song: "Hatchet Town" is the adults of Hatchetfield's reaction to the Mayor announcing there's a serial killer on the loose.
• Dance Party Ending: The second-last scene takes place at Homecoming, with the surviving heroes celebrating their victory and enjoying the school dance with their classmates.
• Dangerous Interrogative: Used by Max during the title number when Richie pleads for his life.
  Ensemble: (singing) If I can finally be cool
  I will know that I'm not a loser!
  Richie: (singing in unison with the ensemble) I'm not a loser!
  Max: (spoken) WHAT DID YOU SAY?!
• Dark Reprise:
  • "Bully the Bully" gets one, in "Bury the Bully".
  • "Nerdy Prudes Must Die" is already a pretty dark song, but it at least comes from the villain, whereas "Dirty Dudes Must Die" comes from a character who was a protagonist but has since undergone a Face–Heel Turn.
• Deadpan Snarker: Pretty much all the characters have their moments, but Steph does it the most.
• Deal with the Devil: The only way to defeat Max is to make a deal with the Lords in Black.
• Decapitation Presentation: After killing Miss Tessburger, Max throws her severed head on the ground in front of Mayor Lauter.
• Dismembering the Body: Happens to Max Jagerman after his fall in the Waylon house. The prudes "hack all his limbs off" and "cut off his nips" before stashing him under the floorboards.
• Dragged Off to Hell: Max's ultimate fate, courtesy of the Lords in Black.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Grace, during "Dirty Girl". Though it is a sexual fantasy.
• Face Your Fears: Max does this when faced with a supposed ghost and skeleton (actually Pete and Ruth in costumes) in the Waylon house. He admits he's been terrified of them his whole life, but decides to fight rather than run.
• Fan Disservice: "Dirty Girl" has Grace fantasize about bathtub sex with Max, but her fantasy is so gross, inexperienced, and awkward (the title stems from her wanting Max to drink her dirty bathwater, which she calls "dirty girl soup") that it only works as Cringe Comedy — which the commentary track has said is intentional.
• Floorboard Failure: Directly leads to Max's death.
• Forbidden Fruit: Grace Chasity's "little peach" is this in Max's eyes; explicitly stated as the reason he's even into her.
• Foreshadowing: Max declares in the intermission of Literal Monster that he will not rest until he has sex with Grace Chasity. As it happens, Grace having sex with Max's ghost is what gets him dragged down to the Black and White, putting the story of Max Jagerman to rest.
• A Form You Are Comfortable With: The Lords in Black "hold court" with the teens in human-like bodies dressed as stereotypical high school archetypes.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Grace plays this role to the group of 'nerdy prudes.' Peter, Ruth and Richie were already friends before the events of the play and while Steph is not a part of that circle, she clicks well with Peter eventually to the point of becoming an Official Couple and Ruth and Richie take to her well (in Ruth's case perhaps a bit too well). Grace, meanwhile, basically latches on to the group and, while they tolerate her presence, she isn't really friends with any of them. This does wear off by the end where Steph and Peter owe their lives and relationship to her.
• Freudian Slippery Slope:
  Grace: Mom, will you pass the butt-stuff?
  [Beat]
  Grace: The butter. Butter. Will you pass the butter? [awkward laugh] I just want some head and butte- Bread! Bread! Bread and butt-sex to go with this big shaft of meat I'm gonna choke down!
• Fun with Homophones: When the nerds are discussing how to dispose of Max's corpse, Grace states that Steph can "tape" while Pete and Ruth use a hatchet and acid. Steph is horrified, thinking Grace means "tape" as in "get a recording of" when the intended meaning is "tape him up in plastic".
• Gilligan Cut: Donna sends her condolences to Max's classmates for the two weeks of heartache that his disappearance has caused. Cut to the school where Max's death has made everyone's lives objectively better.
  Kyle: This has been the best two weeks of my life!
• A God Am I: Max proclaims himself God on a couple of occasions, first when he's about to beat up Pete outside Pasquale's and second after he frightens the "ghost and skeleton" in the Waylon house.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Grace uses phrases like "heckin' fudged" instead of cursing, being a devout Christian.
• Gretzky Has the Ball: In "If I Loved You," when Peter sings "The football team will meet your needs," he clearly mimes using a baseball bat.
• The Grunting Orgasm: Max makes loud noises and boasts while having sex with Grace.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Pete attempts this by letting Steph kill him to pay the price the Lords in Black demand to deal with Max. Grace Takes a Third Option before it comes to that.
  • Inverted in the same instance- Max blocks the bullet from hitting Pete, saving his life (so Max can kill him himself).
• Hope Spot: After Max proves himself really fucking brave in the face of the prudes' prank, he reacts with genuine gratitude toward them for doing something just for him. He feels he misjudged them, thinking they hated him, and all is going surprisingly well... right up until Max falls three stories through the shoddy floorboards and is fatally impaled, swearing vengeance against "nerdy prudes" with his dying breath.
• Ironic Echo: When the Lords in Black demand the prudes sacrifice what they value most in return for Max being dealt with, Steph and Pete are understandably reluctant (as Wiggly strongly implies he wants one to kill the other). He demands they "pay the price, or fuck off!" Later, after Grace sacrifices her virginity to Max, she smugly proclaims, "I paid the price... now fuck off!" Cue the Lords in Black returning to take their due.
• Incoming Ham: "Hey! Shit-lips!" is Max's first line, and his entire first scene ends with the bombastic "Literal Monster, Part 2".
  • Also, the Lords in Black appearing in "The Summoning".
  Peter: ...did it work?
  Wiggog Y'wrath: Hello, fwiendy-wends!
• I Want My Mommy!: Discussed; When Grace is outlining her plan to humiliate Max, she says he'll end up crying for his mommy.
• "I Want" Song: "Just For Once" for Ruth. In-Universe, the song is a number from the fictional musical "The Barbecue Monologues", however, it's clear that the song's theme of wanting to be the center of attention reflects Ruth's desires.
• Jacob Marley Apparel: Max's ghost wears the same clothes he died in, complete with the plastic that was taped around his corpse.
• Leitmotif: Many of them:
  • The Nightmare Time riff, originally from "Not Your Seed" in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, makes an appearance at various points throughout the show, such as at the end of the title track.
  • The "We will build a portal just for him" motif from Black Friday is used when the Lords in Black are summoned in "The Summoning".
  • The beginning of "Show Me Your Hands" from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals plays in a lot of scenes featuring the cops.
  • "Cup of Roasted Coffee" from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals can be heard during Paul and Emma's conversation at Beanie's before being interrupted by Peter.
  • "Jane's a Car" from Nightmare Time, notable for being Mariah Rose Faith's favorite Hatchetfield song, plays during homecoming.
• Lighter and Softer: Perhaps the most lighthearted Hatchetfield musical, yet. Not only is the threat even sillier than past installments, the damage caused across Hatchetfield is noticeably smaller in scale than in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Black Friday. Even the infamous Lords in Black have more of a comedic presence. It also has a more bittersweet ending, as opposed to the outright bleak endings of the past two.
• Love Epiphany: Comes for Steph at an inconvenient time, when the Lords in Black declare that they will only help if one of the teens gives up what they want most. In her case, it turns out that is Pete.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Stephanie Lauter and her father, Solomon Lauter. If you use just the first letter of their first names, their names become S. Lauter.
  • Grace Chasity. A devout Christian obsessed with remaining chaste and pure, with a surname so close to the word "chastity" that many fans do a double-take upon realizing her surname isn't actually Chastity.
  • The Waylons. Their name sounds a bit like "wailing", which is apt considering they're ghosts.
  • Max Jägerman. "Jäger" means hunter in German, and what does Max do? Hunt down nerds.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • Just as Steph and Pete confess their love for each other and Steph pulls the trigger to sacrifice Pete and appease the Lords, Max shows up and beatboxes as he saunters over to pluck the bullet from the air.
  • Right as Max has Steph and Pete at his mercy and yells about how he's going to kill Steph first for betraying him, Grace shows up and starts to seduce him.
  Max: You fucking Judas!
  Grace: (like she's had a revelation) So, you do know the Bible!
• Morton's Fork: A couple times, Played for Laughs.
  • When Max accuses Peter of being rich, then poor in quick succession.
  • The cop confronting Paul in Beanie's.
  Cop: Get your hands out of your pockets! (Paul raises his hands) Put your hands down! (Paul puts his hands at his sides) He's going for a gun! (Cop tackles him)
• My God, What Have I Done?: Grace exclaims "What have I done?!" after indulging in a sexual fantasy involving Max Jagerman.
• Naughty Nuns: His belief in this trope is Max's reason for being so attracted to Grace.
• Noble Demon: The Lords in Black are only willing to take care of Max if one of the teens give up what they cherish most. And the way they word this demand, it's very clear that the lords want Stephanie to kill Peter, or vice-versa. However, before either are able to do so, Grace Chasity ends up fucking Max and loses her virginity; thereby giving up what she dearly cherishes. But while this very much isn't the tragedy they desired, the Lords acknowledge that she fulfilled their terms and accept this as a worthy trade; they proceed to honor their side of the agreement.
• Non-Nude Bathing: Grace during the bathtub scene that leads into a sexual fantasy about Max. To what extent this is literal (Grace confirms in "Abstinence Camp" that she showers in a bathing suit) and to what extent it's merely sparing Angela Giarratana from being unclothed onstage (the outfit offers near full coverage) is up to interpretation.
• Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: Apparently, the second darkest time in Hatchetfield's recent history was a series of "protests at the Hatchetfield Kennel." Then again, knowing that Mayor Lauter is running things, that could just be the worst thing that got reported on... and, considering this is Hatchetfield, it's not impossible that this incident caused some ruckus of its own.
• Oh, Crap!: Max gets two of these when encountering a "ghost" and a "skeleton" in the Waylon house.
  Max: Oh shit! Oh fuck, it's a fucking ghost!
  [Roughly a minute later]
  Max: Oh shit! Oh fuck! I didn't think there'd be a skele'on here!
• Once per Episode: As in both previous Hatchetfield musicals, an early portion of the second act devotes an unreasonably large amount of stage time to a scene from some other musical that exists in-universe; TGWDLM had "Show-Stopping Number", which included the title number from Hidgens's original production Workin' Boys, Black Friday opened its second act with "Deck the Halls (of Northville High)" from Santa Claus Is Goin' To High School, and here, Ruth sings "Just for Once" to herself, apparently a number from the school's production of The Barbecue Monologues.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Max stops a bullet fired by Steph from hitting Pete in the head just so he can kill Pete himself.
• Otherworldly Technicolour Hair: In a play where all the human characters have natural hair colors, the Lovecraftian Lords in Black distinguish themselves with brightly-colored hair in their signature colors.
• Pants-Pulling Prank: Discussed. Pete tells Steph that the reason he wears suspenders is because Brad Callahan did this to him in sixth grade, leading to Pete gaining the Embarrassing Nickname "Micro-Peter".
  Pete: It's not actually a micro-penis! I was a kid! It's grown since then.
• Punch Catch: After Max prevents Steph's bullet from hitting Pete in the head and then threatens to kill Steph, Pete tries to punch him in Steph's defense, but Max catches his fist.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Steph's reaction to Grace propositioning Max for sex.
  Steph: What. The fuck. Is happening right now?!
• Queer Colors: Ruth's song "Just For Once" heavily features pink, purple, and blue lighting; which is often associated with bisexuality. She is explicitly stated to be bisexual later on in the show.
• Rage Against the Heavens: During her breakdown at the police station, Grace claims Max's death was "God's plan" and screams at Him to "do something, you son of a bitch!"
• Raging Stiffie: Jason gets hard right before Grace sacrifices him to the Lords in Black, which she taunts him over, musing if he's just stressed or this is a "power" she now holds.
• Rapid-Fire "No!":
  • Richie gives one upon first seeing Max Jagerman's ghost appearing in the locker room.
  • Max when seeing The Lords In Black arriving to claim his soul.
• Reaction Shot: Grace and Max doing the deed happens offstage, but the audience sees Pete and Steph's shocked reactions to it.
  Steph: Oh, my God! What are we watching?! Are they...
  Pete: Holy cow, they're doing it! Grace is having sex with a fucking ghost!
• Red Filter of Doom: Used during the title number.
• Revenge Is a Dish Best Served: When Pete snaps at Emma to give him the hot chocolate he's "been waiting for what feels like five fucking years" for, she blatantly spits in it before handing it to him.
• Seeking Sanctuary: When it seems like the police have her busted, Grace declares that she's going to enter a church and claim sanctuary. Shapiro exasperatedly tells her that's not a thing.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: All of the characters excluding Grace and her parents curse a lot. The word 'Fuck' is used 88 times in the show.
  • Max probably swears the most out of anyone, in almost every line he has.
• Shirtless Scene: Max is shirtless for most of Grace's sexual fantasy sequence.
• Shout-Out: Several.
  • "I leave Chicago cause of the blood and guts and what do you know, they got 'em here too." is a pretty obvious reference to Chicago.
  • A section in the song 'Bully The Bully' is clearly based off the song 'Cool' from West Side Story.
  The Nerds: We're gonna-
  Richie: Kick!
  Pete: Pop!
  Ruth: Splat!
  Grace: Be cool!
  • Peter quickly realizes that in his ghost costume, 19th century garb topped by his natural long black hair, he doesn't look so much like a ghost as Lin-Manuel Miranda in the title role of Hamilton.
  • Max's Ghostly Goals and appearance to his victims when they least expect it feel very much like Freddy Krueger. Wiggly directly quotes Freddy as he and the other Lords drag Max down into the Black.
    Wiggly: You're in my world now, bitch!
  • The plot also has similarities to I Know What You Did Last Summer, with the victim of a manslaughter seeking bloody vengeance on the group of teens who perpetrated it.
  • While the similarities to Scream, are not as clear, the scene where the nerds realize that Max is behind everything, and he shows up is a pretty clear reference to Ghostface's unmasking.
    Max: Surprise, Steph!
  • Max intruding and Taking the Bullet for Pete in slow motion parallels the end Hamilton, where he soliloquizes as he watches the bullet come at him in slow-mo.
  • Max being Dragged Off to Hell by the Lords in Black is a pretty clear reference to the Cenobites doing the same to Frank, with Wiggly and Pinhead talking about the horrific wonders they intend to inflict on him while the victim curses them.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • After falling three stories and being fatally impaled, Max seems more concerned about the fact that he pissed his pants.
  • When Max goes missing, Mayor Lauter vows to devote all resources possible... to the high school football team, for having to go without their star quarterback.
• Smoking Hot Sex: Grace lights up after losing her virginity to Max as a sacrifice for the Lords in Black.
• Splash of Color: Downplayed. Most characters have muted, neutral tones in their clothing, so when the Lords in Black appear dressed in bright neon colors with lighting designed to make the colors pop out, it makes their appearance feel even more jarring and unnatural in a way that's initially hard to put your finger on.
• Start to Corpse: The show opens with the discovery of Richie Lipschitz's body, then jumps back in time to show How We Got Here.
• Stealth Pun: In both The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Black Friday, Paul Matthews is told that he should wear a watch. Here in his brief cameo in the third installment, he's a proud member of the Neighborhood Watch.
• The Stinger: While a stage show can't have an after-credits scene, the homecoming scene and its song feel a lot like a grand finale, only for one more scene and song to take place afterward: Grace Chasity still has the Black Book and has begun to harvest the souls of "dirty dudes" for her own means.
• Surprisingly Happy Ending: Played with. The scene at homecoming really seems like it's the end of the show, with a big, cheerful group song, the Official Couple together, the Big Bad defeated, and all the loose ends tied up, making this seem like the first Hatchetfield musical to have a straightforwardly happy ending. But the show isn't over; there's one more scene and song, revealing Grace has begun to use the Black Book to continue working with the Lords in Black to kill anyone she deems sexually and morally impure. It's less depressing ending than most Hatchetfield stories, since the world at whole isn't in danger (yet), and Steph and Pete at least seem to be safe, but it definitely puts the show in Bittersweet Ending territory.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Psychology
  • Max Jagerman has been to anti-bullying seminars. However, since in reality, standard therapy doesn't work on sociopath/narcissist -type disorders and only teaches them to use Therapy Speak to further abuse people, Max beats up people for walking in 'his' hallway, even if they didn't mean to bother him by doing it, telling them that "there's a difference between intent and impact."
  • Grace Chasity has sex with Max Jagerman, giving up what she treasures most (her virginity) in exchange for the Lords in Black dragging Max to hell. But simply getting laid (especially in a dubcon situation) doesn't fix her deep-rooted psychosexual issues. She gets even worse and starts seducing boys and then killing them for being 'dirty dudes'.
• Take a Third Option: The Lords in Black promise to eliminate Max if one of the three teens gives up the thing they cherish most, expecting this will result in either Steph killing Peter or vice-versa. Grace saves them from this fate by seducing and having sex with Max's ghost, both buying time for them and giving up the thing she cares about most, her chastity.
• This Cannot Be!: Richie says this when Max's ghost appears.
  Richie: This can't be! You're dead!
• This Is a Song: A couple of the songs refer to the fact that the character(s) are singing. In "Cool As I Think I Am", Pete laments that "I bet this song'll suck", while "Hatchet Town" has a crowd point out that "Singing all these songs gives him greater windows to kill / But we're singing still!"
• This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: Most of Max's murders. It gets turned around on him when Wiggly drags him off to the Black and White at the end of the show.
• Title Drop: Max's last words, as well as his post-death Villain Song.
• Tome of Eldritch Lore: The Black Book, used by Grace, Steph and Pete in the second act to summon the Lords in Black.
• Twisted Echo Cut: One of these occurs when Max is preparing to beat the crap out of Pete in the parking lot outside Pasquale's.
  Max: [angrily advancing on Pete] Now on your knees, bitch! It's time to say your fuckin' prayers!
  [cut to the Chasity family praying over dinner at home]
  The Chasitys: AMEN!
• Undignified Death: The murders are themed as lethal mockeries of the kinds of cliche torments bullies impose on nerds. Officer Bailey immediately picks up on this, noting that Richie's chest lacerations and subsequent drowning in the toilet can be interpreted as him having been "purple nurpled and swirlied to death". Ruth's death is a substantially more gruesome version of the Atomic Wedgie, presumably severing her in half at the perineum.
• Villain Song: Quite a few.
  • While the first half of Literal Monster is a "The Villain Sucks" Song about Max, the second half has Max happily join in and proclaim how terrible he is.
  • The title song, Nerdy Prudes Must Die, also serves as this for Max after his death.
  • The Summoning, sung by the Lords In Black after the three surviving teens summon them.
  • Dirty Dudes Must Die, Grace's reprise of Nerdy Prudes Must Die, showcasing how she's gone mad with power and plans to steal the souls of 'dirty dudes' with the help of the Black Book.
• Villainous Valour: The haunted house prank might have been a brilliant idea, as Max secretly holds a deep-seated fear of the undead. Rather than screaming in terror and pissing himself as was the nerds' plan, though, Max takes the "ghost's" appearance as an opportunity to face his fears and improve himself. Richie even acknowledges he's "really fucking brave."
  Max: I always knew you fuckers were real! I've been scared of you my whole life!... But it's time to stop running. Float over here, ghost! I'm gonna kick your fuckin' ass!
• Walk-In Chime-In: Max does this at the end of "Cool As I Think I Am", finishing the final line of the song.
  Pete: (singing) Who do I think I am?
  Who do I think I am?
  Oh-woah-oh-woah-oh...
  Max: (spoken) OH! (to the cheering audience) SHUT UP!
• Wham Line: After leading the prudes to the Black Book, Mayor Lauter tells them what they need to do to banish Max's undead soul:
  "To survive this night, you'll have to strike a bargain... with the Lords in Black."
• What the Hell Are You?: Max screams "WHAT ARE YOU?!" when coming face to face with the Lords in Black as they drag him into their realm.
• Worst News Judgment Ever: As a follow-up to the Skewed Priorities moment above, the Hatchetfield News reports the Hatchetfield High School football team's loss to the Clivesdale team as a horrible tragedy, then moves on to the story of two high school students having been gruesomely murdered.
• Worth It: Max's last words as the Lords in Black pull him into the Black are an angry declaration that it was worth it.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Steph and Pete both believe this of the other.
• You Cannot Grasp the True Form: Pokey mentions that their true forms would melt the teens' minds.