The ‘90s often get a bad rap with horror fans. After the numerous successful slashers and creature effects films of the ’80s, the ‘90s offered a different variety of horror fare. Though there were plenty of hits, hidden gems, and misunderstood classics, the ‘90s usually don’t get the kind of love that other decades get when it comes to horror. It’s time to change that.
There are a few horror remakes that have become so beloved that they eclipse their predecessors. Movies like The Thing and The Fly cemented themselves as part of the essential horror canon. And there are even other remakes like Dawn of the Dead that have managed to take a seemingly untouchable classic and do something fresh with the material. One remake that is certainly well-liked is Martin Scorsese’s 1991 redo of J. Lee Thompson’s 1962 Hitchcock-inspired classic, Cape Fear.
Now, I’m sure there will be plenty of readers who will jump to calling Cape Fear a thriller, but just like I did with Joker, I’m going to come in and say that Scorsese’s Cape Fear is definitively a horror movie. Maybe I’d be willing to allow some wiggle room with the 1962 original, but Scorsese’s version does a few particular things that take it into full-on horror territory.
As with a lot of horror movies, Cape Fear earns that moniker through its intention and tone. Moreso than in Thompson’s version, the reprehensible and vengeful Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is portrayed as an inhuman monster. His assault on a young woman played by Illeana Douglas is downright terrifying and brutal, and his eventual status as a monster is confirmed by the end of the film when he is badly burned and comes out looking like a southern-fried Freddy Krueger.
Of course, we have to take a moment and praise De Niro’s performance as Cady. It’s one of the all-time great screen villains. So many moments from the movie feel instantly iconic. Whether it’s Cady smoking a cigar and being loud in a movie theater, or the below shot of him resting on the wall outside the Bowden family home. These moments create a mood and a purpose behind Max Cady that is undeniably sinister and terrifying. And De Niro brings his A-game to every scene.
Scorsese also takes the inspiration from Hitchcock’s visual library and dials it up to eleven. It gets to a point where even Brian De Palma would blush at how much the director emphasizes a particular style. But, it’s undeniably effective. Cape Fear feels off in a lot of ways, and that’s in part to the odd ways the camera is utilized. It adds to the overall feeling of tension and unease throughout the movie.
And, because Scorsese was working in the ‘90s instead of the ‘60s, he’s allowed to take the violence and horror much farther than the original. In the remake, Cady violently murders multiple people and attempts to court young Danielle Bowden (Juliette Lewis). It’s vile and disturbing in a way the original only hinted at.
While the remake mostly plays out in similar fashion to the 1962 film, the climactic showdown is what cements this as outright horror. Cady’s showdown with the Bowdens on their boat is nothing short of nightmarish, culminating in a far less ambiguous ending than the original. Even if the rest of the movie didn’t convince you that this was horror, this finale should seal the deal.
Scorsese is no slouch when it comes to his film knowledge, and he’s an avowed fan of the horror genre. The fact that he chose to make Cape Fear after his enormous success with Goodfellas is a testament to his interest in the genre. His status as a prestige filmmaker doesn’t change the fact that Scorsese made one of the best horror films of the ‘90s with Cape Fear, and I bet he’d wear that distinction with pride. If you haven’t ever seen Cape Fear or just haven’t seen it in a while, do yourself a favor and hunt down this horror classic.
