Cape Fear (1991) Movie Review

Max Cady was imprisoned for fourteen years for the rape of sixteen year old girl. He could have walked free if his lawyer Sam Bowden had not buried some evidence that could have possibly made it impossible to convict him. So, now that Cady has been released on parole he is out to get his revenge on Bowden and his family for the fourteen years that he has lost in prison and begins terrorising them.

Scorsese's remake of the 1962 film is definitely another accompished film from his partnership with Robert De Niro but it isn't a patch on their other classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas etc. It is however still an excellent film that keeps up the suspense until the end which is largely due to the brilliance of De Niro. In my opinion this is one of De Niro's best performances, he maximises Cady's potential and brings out the most evil, menacing and loathsome performance possible. He was 47 when he played this role but he got himself into the best shape he has ever been in on screen, Raging Bull included. There were also small parts given to the two lead actors in the original film, Robert Mitchum played Cady in the '62 version and Gregory Peck played Bowden.

The original Cape Fear is a more subtle version due to the restrictions that they still had in 1962, it is more film noir than this thriller/horror remake but the suspense is still just as evident and the performance of Robert Mitchum as Cady is just as good as De Niro's portrayal. It is no less of a film than this one and many seem to think that it is better, claiming Scorsese and De Niro were a little too over the top. The original is well worth seeing though.