Cape Fear is a 1991 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a remake of the 1962 film, which was 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. Robert Mitchum has a small role in the film, while Gregory Peck (in his final theatrical film role) and Martin Balsam make cameo appearances, all three having starred in the original film.

Plot

Maximilian "Max" Cady, a psychopathic rapist, is released from prison after serving a sentence for the rape and battery of a 16-year-old girl. During his trial in Atlanta, Georgia, 14 years earlier, his public defender Samuel "Sam" Bowden was so appalled by Cady's crimes that he hid a 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. Cady was ultimately convicted and given the maximum sentence.