Cape Fear (Robert De Niro)

Cape Fear is a 1991 American Southern Gothic psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Wesley Strick. It is a remake of the 1962 film, which is based on the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. The film stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Joe Don Baker, and Juliette Lewis.

Max Cady, a psychopathic rapist, is released from prison after finishing a full sentence for the rape and battery of a 16-year-old girl. During his trial in Atlanta fourteen years earlier, his public defender, Sam Bowden, was so appalled by Cady's crimes that he hid a police report stating that the victim was promiscuous, which might have lightened Cady's sentence or acquitted him altogether. Bowden assumed that Cady, who was illiterate at the time of the trial, would never become aware of the report.

Bowden has since gone into private practice and now lives in fictional New Essex, North Carolina, with his wife Leigh and their teenage daughter Danielle ("Dani"). Cady moves to New Essex and quickly makes his presence known to Bowden. He explains that after learning to read in prison, he taught himself law and attempted several unsuccessful appeals of his case representing himself, implying that he knows about the hidden report. He soon begins to stalk and terrorize the Bowden family. After failing to pay Cady off, Bowden tries to have him charged for kidnapping and poisoning the family dog but is told by the authorities that there's no proof Cady is responsible.