Nightmare Fuel / The Cable Guy

• The fact that this is probably Jim Carrey's creepiest role yet. The trailers convinced viewers that it would be a fun, light-hearted comedy, like many of his other films at the time, only to be surprised on how dark it is instead.
• You know that guy who came to your house to repair your sink, install new paneling or cut your lawn, who seemed maybe just a little too friendly? Yeah, what if he really was a psycho who thought he was your best friend and refused to take no for an answer?
• The nightmare scene especially, seeing Chip's eyes glow a pale creepy glow. Even worse, as Steven is trying desperately to get away as The Cable Guy chases him endlessly and finally catches up to him.
  • The kicker is that Steven wakes up from the nightmare to a phone call. It's Chip again.
    • At one point, a spider starts crawling across his face. Even if you find the scene funny, remember that this guy is in such a psychotic state, that he's not the least bit fazed by a bug crawling on his face.
• Chip's childhood deserves a mention. He recalls it matter-of-fact, but hearing how he was left alone by his mother with no supervision or companionship other than a television is just as creepy as it is sad. Also, hearing how he was kicked in the face by one of his mother's boyfriends, who was wearing steel-toed boots and he was left bloodied and having to be rushed to the hospital for emergency reconstructive surgery... yeah.
• His dive off of the tower at the end, especially since both he (and the audience) thought he had impaled himself on the antenna and killed himself. Fortunately, while he was obviously injured, he didn't.
• Then there's Carrey's face on The Cable Guy poster and all print media releases of the film. He has both a Kubrick Stare and a Slasher Smile.
• The sheer ease that Chip can display when essentially dismantling Steven's life is nothing short of horrifying, managing to get him fired from his job through video blackmail and various contacts, nearly destroying his relationship with his girlfriend, shaming him in front of his family, and getting him sent to prison. How does he do all this? By being The Charmer to his friends and family, and generally being a tech wizard. All of this points to the fact that he has most likely had practice doing all this with other victims. In the film, Rick mentions that Chip was fired from the Cable Company for stalking other customers. Just who knows how many other people Chip has ruined before Steven came along?!
• The reveal that Chip lied about his name (having used the names of television characters) and was fired from the cable company for stalking customers is an especially creepy detail, as it basically makes question everything you know about Chip at that point, including his real name.
  • This makes the earlier scenes creepier, as this basically means Steven unknowingly let a mentally unstable lunatic into his home and didn't realize it until it was too late.
• The entire film is a Deconstruction on Carrey's other roles; showing how frightening and obviously batshit insane someone who acts like his usual roles actually is, it basically tells you that someone like that is most likely to be a dangerous psychopath who can and will take over everything if they get their foot in the door.
  • Carrey's performance as Chip - he manages to take his usual laughably goofy persona and twist it into something creepy and threatening. Through his mannerisms and even his physical comedy, there's an underlying sense of danger and malice to Chip's behavior; while he never goes as far as anything like murder or the like, it's as if you know he's fully capable of it.

---