Review of Cape Fear (1991) by Damon W — 02 Nov 2008

If you've seen The Simpsons spoof of this film, then it is very hard to take it seriously - or is it just because this is all ludicrous? It's so weirdly made that I actually wondered if this was a spoof, especially with the blaring comedy doom music.

It's a simple thriller. Sam and his family are being terrorized by rapist Max Cady, who blames Sam for not defending him properly at his trial. So why is it so ludicrous?

It takes far too long to start, the framing narration is just bad and there isn't particularly an ending, meanwhile the plot revolves around everyone in the world being utterly incompetent, except for Cady, who is indestructible.

None of the characters are believable or likeable, except Sam, with Robert De Niro as Cady, Jessica Lange as Sam's wife and Juliette Lewis as Sam's daughter all being so confusingly unconvincing I don't understand how they got paid for this. Ludicrously unbelievable goes for the plot too. As for Cady, he's an annoying, pathetic loser, who is for some reason impossible to stop, despite no apparent supernatural powers.

With no positive aspect at all, when this isn't laugh-out-loud funny it's so bad, it's extremely irritating. So well done Martin Scorsese for making the cinematic equivalent of an amusingly shaped skin rash.