Pleasantville/Nightmare Fuel

While Pleasantville was more or less a dramatic comedy, there have been many moments where the peaceful little town can be downright scary. Often showing that things aren't always as pleasant as they seem.

• For starters the TV Repairman. While he's friendly at first, his sudden appearance conveniently after David and Jennifer break their remote. Top that with some dramatic lightning after he gives David the new remote. When they fight over the new remote, he's still outside their house in his van watching them with a creepy smile on his face. When they accidentally get put in Pleasantville, he's suddenly in a room similar to the classic off air display, nonchalantly explaining where they are while, while Jennifer and David panic. It's even scarier because, he has some degree of control over every TV in Plesantville and has implied to have been watching their actions through said TVs. As well as showing things like Jennifer's boyfriend leaving when she doesn't answer the door. When they inadvertently upset the man, he walks off crying presumably leaving them stuck there for a week or two.
• The basketball scene. In the show it's established that because everyone is pleasant, every teenage boy can be a sport star without trying. As shown when David/Bud shot 3 perfect baskets from different angles and the rest of the team manages to simultaneously throw perfect shots into one net. When David/Bud talks to Skip when the latter wants to ask Jennifer/Mary Sue, that's when things go downhill. Bud initially was trying to talk Skip out of it, Skip gets so mad he throws his ball which instead rolls around the rim and falls off. Causing everyone on the team to stop and stare, while the coach discourages them from even touching it. While not a scary scene, it does come off as creepy how quickly the town turns when they see the slightest imperfection.
• The montage. After Jennifer/Mary Sue takes Skip's virginity, he becomes the first person to spot a red rose in an otherwise monochrome world. Skip later tells the others on the team what Jennifer/Mary Sue did to him. Which as a follow up to the above scene, causes them all to miss their Simultaneous Shot. David knowing that Jennifer was responsible, calls her out on nearly destroying their universe and she justifies herself by showing one of the girls blowing an obviously pink bubble of bubblegum. Later on there's a montage of teens at Lover's Lane having car sex and showing more signs of colourization. The eerie part being the still monochrome citizens treating it and other changes to the town like it's a disease spreading. The main parts such as the advertisement of a large bed for couples as well as well as the Pleasantville Lions losing the big basketball game ending with one of the girls sporting a pink tongue while being examined by the doctor, who initially dismisses it as unhealthy eating. All while David is desperately changing channels looking for the TV Repairman. As if things don't seem to get any worse, while discussing the changes with the other wives, Betty notices things changing in her own home. Such as her cards sporting red.
• The fire scene. Betty asks Jennifer/Mary Sue what goes on in Lover's Lane. At first Jennifer/Mary Sue is reluctant, but then explains the birds and the bees. When Betty laments that George would never do what Jennifer described, Jennifer offers her advice to gain pleasure without needing men's help. Which she later puts into play in the bathroom. After getting her first ever orgasm while everything changes color around her, a tree randomly bursts into flames. David/Bud hearing the flames rushes out to see and tries to get the fire department's help. While a comical scene, it becomes kinda creepy because the firemen never seen a fire before and don't know what to do. Had David/Bud not help with the hose, the tree would have potentially burned down the whole neighbourhood.
• When Whitey confronts David/Bud and Margaret. Because Margaret didn't follow the show's status quo and give him the cookies she gave David/Bud, which would have later blossomed into their own relationship in Lover's Lane; Whitey became a bitter bully. When he goes around town hoping David/Bud would attend the town meeting, since he's still monochrome. The whole thing comes across as a white supremacist threatening an interracial couple since Margret is now technicolor. Even calling her "Bud's colored girlfriend." to boot. Bud knowing full well the implications demands that Whitey leaves. Before he leaves he says that Margaret can come by and make him cookies anytime she wants. In a tone that suggests he's threatening her too.
• When Bill paints Betty in the nude. While it was meant to show an appreciation of her, it causes not only an uproar with the still monochrome citizens, but also prompts the Whitey and the teens to sexually harass Betty in the street. If David/Bud hasn't arrived and punched Whitey, they would have most likely raped Betty. Especially since one of his cronies mentioned wanting to see what's under her blue dress. What makes it nightmare fuel in Whitey's case is, after David/Bud punches him, he not only sees blood for the first time, but the blood is real red. Indicating that he's slowly changing to technicolor too. This on top of watching David/Bud turn technicolor off screen prompts them to run for it. Eventually some of the citizens destroy the painting and the window it's on starting a riot. Which causes all the monochrome citizens to break into Bill's Shop, smash up his paintings and destroy everything inside. Betty even has a moment of worry when she thinks they may have attacked Bill, but David/Bud assures her he's not in the shop. David/Bud then notices that Margaret is being chased down by Whitey's gang clearly scared out of her mind at what they're doing, before David and Betty get to her. The riot then escalates to the library where they throw all the books onto a large fire. The only one fighting back being Jennifer/Mary Sue who stops Skip from destroying her book, before she reunites with David/Bud, Betty, Margaret and the rest of the technicolor teens. Who later take refuge in the smashed soda shop. They have a brief scare when they hear someone, but it turns out Bill returned to clean the place up for their eventual arrival.
• The Mural Scene, while an awesome moment gets kind of scary. When the still monochrome remnants of the Pleasantville citizens see the mural, with the exception of the Paperboy who rode in and saw it; none of them walk up to it. They just....appear and grow in numbers as their outrage gets louder and louder. As though they were the human equivalent to a virus cell or an antibody reproducing rapidly. To further hammer that in, there was even a brief shot of the total population of the monochrome citizens surrounding David/Bud, Bill and that mural in a manner that they have quarantined the area.

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