The supernatural teen genre has been a favorite for movies and television since the late '90s and 2000s, and fans probably have Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight to thank for it. Like many movies and television specific to one genre, they tend to follow common tropes. Adhering to tropes is a given in these types of movies and TV shows, as they're highly liked by viewers and give fans everything they want to see happen.
These tropes can also be a guilty pleasure, can often be spotted a mile away, and sometimes even mean that viewers can guess the storyline or even the ending of the movie or episode before the halfway point. But it doesn't matter. It's all about the unlikely beautiful teen who gets tangled in the world of the supernatural, who falls in love and faces a deadly enemy seeking to destroy them.
10 The New Girl Or Boy
Movies and shows of the supernatural teen genre don't have much if there's no new character. Of course, there are always the main characters that have lived in the movie's set location for years. But the arrival of the new girl or guy sends everyone into a frenzy that jumpstarts the supernatural story.
Twilight is a prime example, as Forks was a mundane town where the Cullens lived in peace. But the arrival of Bella had everyone brainwashed and the Cullens are thrust into the drama. The same occurs in The Vampire Diaries with the arrival of Stefan and Damon.
9 The Naive & Quaint Town
Taking a look at the more famous movies and show in the game, they all have one thing in common. The towns in which the main characters reside have no idea about their involvement in the supernatural. It's an overused trope that's used to create an aura of mystery and secrecy.
It occurs in Teen Wolf, as the townspeople are unaware that they are inhabited by werewolves and a beacon for supernatural entities. The same can be said for The Vampire Diaries, as the residents of Mystic Falls somehow miss all the vampires, wolves, and weird things that are happening in their quaint town.
8 Characters With Hidden Supernatural Abilities
There wouldn't be much intrigue if the main characters' real nature was known by the general public. There would be no mystery or the riveting thrill of whether or not they'll be discovered. This trope is somewhat essential to the genre. Characters try to keep their abilities secret for the fear of humans hunting them or using them for ill purposes.
The Cullens travel from town to town as they restart high school to draw away suspicion that they don't age. Bella also has to relearn how to act human in front of Charlie. In Vampire Academy, the human world has no idea that there's a vampire world and a whole school dedicated to them.
7 Gorgeous Characters
Part of what makes supernatural shows and movies so popular with teens are the good looking male and female characters. These characters have fans daydreaming during fourth period and drawing hearts on their binders. Fans swoon over the muscles and bad boy charm of Jacob Black and the chiseled face of Edward Cullen.
Fans also can't forget the jaw-droppingly handsome male leads in The Covenant. The trope also applies to female characters, too, as Bella enchanted her peers with her looks and even more so as a vampire. A beautiful supernatural character adds to the other worldly fantasy element.
6 The Love Triangle
To be fair, the love triangle is a commonly used trope in many genres. But this type of romance in supernatural storylines is always intriguing and adds a different level of tantalizing drama to the overall story.
The Twilight love triangle is the most famous of the bunch, but fans also can't forget the one in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the tug of war battle as Buffy has to choose between Spike or Angel. Above all, there is Elena fighting her heart's desire to be with Damon while being in love with Stefan.
5 The Big World Ending Event Or Problem
A supernatural show or movie isn't able to enthrall fans if there isn't a threat to world safety or a potentially world-ending occurrence. The show or movie has to lead up to a riveting end, with fans hoping their characters make it out alive. Buffy literally has to stop the world from ending and Scott and his friends have to fight an Anuk-Ite in an all-out war.
In the movie adaption of the teen fantasy novel, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Clary has to help the Shadowhunters find the mortal cup and stop her father from reigning terror. In The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Sabrina has to stop The Void from consuming the world.
4 The Villain Who Wants More Power
Villains in the genre also run into their own tropes that are used over and over. Villains follow the trope of them wanting extreme power and stopping at nothing to get it. This trope adds some needed tension to the storyline. In The Covenant, the main characters learn that Chase is a descendant of the Ipswitch families.
Chase kills a student as well as his adoptive and real family. He kills his father so that he can receive his father's powers on his 18th birthday and he seeks to kill Caleb or force his hand in order to transfer his powers to him. This trope is easily expected in the genre.
3 The Main Character With Unique Powers
In these types of movies, the main character has to be special in some way. In Twilight, Bella's blood is sickly sweet and entices every vampire. When she turns into a vampire herself, she has the unique ability to create force fields with her mind. There are even more examples, like Hope from Legacies being the only vampire, wolf, and witch hybrid to ever exist.
Some unique abilities are milder, like Scott from Teen Wolf being a natural-born Alpha. The same can be said for Sabrina Spellman from the Netflix series, who has immense magical powers due to being the daughter of Lucifer himself.
2 The Female Character That Needs Saving
One trope that is always seen is the female lead character always being the center of everyone's world and always needing saving. A perfect example is how many of the characters in TVD had to sacrifice something in order to keep Elena safe. The same occurs with Bella and the Cullens keeping her safe from James - much to Rosalie's disgruntlement.
In Vampire Academy, Rose is Lissa's guardian protector and focuses all her energy on keeping the future Queen safe. The trope even applies in The Covenant, where Caleb has to keep his new love interest out of harm's way.
1 Forbidden Love
A good supernatural show or movie can't be without forbidden love. It's a given trope that is highly loved by fans. Bella meets Edward and knows they can't really be together, as he's a vampire who is enticed by her human blood. In Fallen, Daniel actively rejects and stays away from Lucinda.
The reasoning for this is because they are a reincarnated love story, but every time they kiss, Lucinda dies. They have a forbidden love, as Daniel is a fallen angel and can't be in love with a human. A love story is always intriguing, but a supernatural one is always better.
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May 06, 2021 at 05:30AM
