The Big Picture
- Robert De Niro embraces horror and becomes one of cinema’s scariest villains in Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear. His transformation into the deranged killer Max Cady is unforgettable.
- Cape Fear is one of the best horror movies of the ’90s, taking the story of good versus evil and adding blood, beatings, and brawls to create a truly terrifying experience.
- Scorsese and De Niro are groundbreaking partners who fearlessly explore the dark corners of humanity. They never shy away from violence and create some of cinema’s most memorable characters.
We love him, we hate him, but one thing’s for sure, we can’t live without him and neither can the movies. Robert De Niro is not only one of the greatest actors of his generation but of all time. So, it’s only fitting that he’s had a long-lasting, triumphant partnership with one of the greatest directors of all time, Martin Scorsese. The duo have been together since the ’70s, and they’ve never stopped reinventing themselves, nor film itself. Always pushing boundaries in the name of telling a good story, they’ve created some bad guys, and some good guys, but mostly morally ambiguous men living in an even more morally ambiguous. De Niro and Scorsese have become revered for their fearlessness in exploring the darkest corners of humanity, and the dirtiest of alleyways where most artists wouldn’t dare venture. Nowadays, in a world where noble, flawless superhero heroes rule the box office featuring heroes and villains that have become extremely black and white, antiheroes have been mostly left behind. It may be no coincidence that one of the biggest critics of superhero films is Scorsese, and as someone who has dedicated his life to exploring the nature of evil in all of us, his kind of character development and exploration of the human soul has become a lost art.
Fortunately for us, Scorsese is not interested in supernatural men flying in the sky who are 100 percent good, he’s interested in the gray areas, and the terrifyingly human monsters that live in plain sight. De Niro has been his fearless solider for decades, and their exploration into less-than-good guys with hearts of questionable gold began with Mean Streets in 1973. Afterward, they created one of the greatest antiheroes of our time and introduced the now-beloved archetype into the mainstream media with Taxi Driver. Travis Bickle will go down as one of American cinema’s greatest characters, with the all-time debate over if he’s ultimately a good guy, or a bad guy. As De Niro and Scorsese evolved from there, De Niro’s characters have gotten darker film by film, and increasingly ambiguous until they become downright evil. De Niro will always be Scorsese’s greatest hero, but there is no denying he is one of cinema’s greatest, beloved bad guys. Scorsese’s recent picture, Killers of the Flower Moon, drives home that message as De Niro plays the greediest, cruelest kind of man in William “King” Hale, and Hale really is one of De Niro’s most devilish turns. But, the pair truly struck gold in 1991 with their Horror remake of Cape Fear, where De Niro truly transformed into the most wicked, violent character of his entire career.
Robert De Niro’s Scariest Villain Is in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Cape Fear’
Sure, De Niro plays bad guys. They’re typically mobsters, vigilantes, toxic men who love to put the women around them down. But, they’re still human, and they’re not necessarily horrifying in a way that audiences are scared to turn off the lights after viewing the film or scream from a jump scare. In Cape Fear, De Niro embraces horror in a way he’s never done before nor since, and truly gives the likes of Michael Meyers and Freddy Krueger a run for their money as a deranged killer on the loose. A remake of the 1962 film starring Robert Mitchum as the vengeful ex-convict Max Cady and Gregory Peck as the lawyer who put him in jail, Sam Bowden, Scorsese’s love for old Hollywood takes on a new, darker color in his updated film. One of the highlights of the film is the cameos Mitchum and Peck give, and it’s Scorsese’s way of paying homage to the legends who originated the roles. De Niro had massive shoes to fill by stepping into the role Mitchum previously played, but it was meant to be. As Mitchum was one of Hollywood’s most beloved bad boys who wasn’t afraid to play unlikeable men, De Niro was the perfect modern leading man to play the creepy Max Cady.
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Both the film’s character and its real-life subject are the definition of pure evil.
What De Niro does for this role physically is more extreme than what he’s done in any other role. He fully embodies this violent, dangerous man with his walk, his sneering smile, and his barely contained hands, threatening to throw punches at any moment. He decided to go through a complete transformation to play Cady and decided to have his body covered in tattoos for his role as a revenge-seeking prisoner. He additionally gained several pounds of muscle that made his body ripple anytime he moved. Forget guns or knives, he was a weapon himself, and it’s one of Scorsese’s craziest films. In Cape Fear, De Niro’s character is a literal predator, in jail for the assault of a young woman, and he walks and slithers across the screen like an actual panther you’d see in the jungle on the hunt as he starts hunting prey once more. The film begins when Max Cady, a convicted sex offender, is released from prison after serving behind bars for 14 years. He found himself in prison after his lawyer, Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), withheld evidence that could have possibly gotten him a lesser sentence, but due to Cady’s horrific crime, Bowden decided it was best for him to rot behind bars. It is clear from the getco, there is no trace of the charismatic De Niro in Cady’s demonic eyes, and only Scorsese could illicit such a disturbing, uninhibited performance.
Scorsese’s ‘Cape Fear’ Is One of the Best ’90s Horror Movies
Now on a path towards vengeance, Cady becomes obsessed with stalking Bowden along with his family, featuring Jessica Lange as his wife, Leigh Bowden, and Juliette Lewis as his 15-year-old daughter, Danielle Bowden. In short, the guy knows how to hold a grudge. It is disturbing to witness Cady from the very opening scene in jail as he works out in his cell, preparing to get even with Bowden, who he believes delivered a miscarriage of justice. The ways he decides to get even are extremely unsettling. Deciding to go after 15-year-old Julie and prey upon her by seduction, Juliette Lewis more than holds her own against De Niro and also gives one of the performances of her career that then earned her an Oscar nomination. De Niro himself received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor but lost to another horrific performance given by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. Two monsters, but only one victor. But still, his performance is unforgettable as he moves in closer to not only Danielle but the entire family’s psyche as he toys with their feelings and tortures them in ways only Scorsese could conjure up. Scorsese could draw out such an unforgettable performance from De Niro, and it should be discussed when reviewing his best career performances within his iconic filmography.
Remaking Cape Fear was no small feat, even for an acclaimed director like Scorsese, as it was a successful and critically acclaimed film when it debuted in 1962. Starring two of Hollywood’s biggest leading men in Mitchum and Peck, it was the perfect story of good versus evil, and to say it had just a slighter, happier ending than Scorsese’s remake is a massive understatement. But, he proved that the film was in good hands, and Scorsese created one of his most notorious monsters. Embracing the horror at the heart of the story versus the original which feels more like a thriller, he takes many liberties that involve blood, beatings, and brawls. The ’90s were an incredible time in film across the board, and both De Niro and Scorsese were at the top of their game. De Niro also teamed up with Scorsese in Goodfellas and Casino, two of Scorsese’s most beloved and critically acclaimed films, and those are hard to compete with. They often shine out Cape Fear and the incredible work De Niro does in it, but his performance is absolutely in the same league as James Conway and Sam ‘Ace’ Rothsman.
Scorsese and De Niro Are a Groundbreaking Partnership
Scorsese and De Niro are creative soulmates, and they continuously make each other better at their respective craft as they never shy away from the next challenge. They are especially not afraid of darkness, death, and the roof of good versus evil. Scorsese has never shied away from violence. It’s what he knows, and it’s what he understands, in part because of his upbringing in Queens during the 1940s. He never glorifies the pain or justifies violent crimes, he simply presents it to his audience. Cape Fear is a particularly controversial film within Scorsese’s filmography, as its main character is a sex offender seeking out his next victim, and neither Scorsese nor De Niro shies away from the dark waters Cady swims in. Even today, Scorsese still faces heat from critics and audiences alike, currently with his villainous characters in the true-crime drama, Killers of the Flower Moon. Covering the many sins and violent crimes of greedy white men during the 1920s in Oklahoma as they go on a murdering spree that involves killing several members of the Osage nation, some have complained of the film’s violence.
What we witness in Killers of the Flower Moon are wolves hiding in sheep’s clothing, and we view the world through their unmistakably evil eyes that drench the camera in bloodlust. It’s upsetting watching the brutality unfold, but that is precisely the point. Yes, Scorsese’s depiction of violence is uncomfortable, but art is not always comforting. Over a decades-long partnership that led them to fearlessly explore all the highs and lows of humanity, Scorsese and De Niro created their scariest, gross villains in Max Cady. De Niro proves he is so versatile that he is not only one of the great dramatic actors, but he also has the chops to become one of film’s all-time scariest villains with the use of his dark eyes and slimy sneer. Step aside Hannibal Lector. Cape Fear is a must-watch for any Scorese-De Niro fanatic.
Cape Fear is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
Watch on Apple TV+
