Cape Fear TV show, starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem, has distinctly modern menace
Actor Amy Adams and Javier Bardem are set to star in a new television adaptation of the classic thriller Cape Fear. Creator Nick Antosca aims to modernize the story, focusing on psychological paranoia and the impact of hyper-online culture.
Why it matters
The project highlights the ongoing trend of reimagining classic cinematic properties for the streaming era while adapting them to reflect contemporary societal anxieties.
A TV adaptation of Cape Fear has premiered 35 years after Martin Scorsese's 1991 movie introduced a new generation to the sinister Max Cady. ( Supplied: Apple TV )
Link copied Share Share article Like many millennials, American screenwriter Nick Antosca admits he probably first learned about Cape Fear from The Simpsons.
A 1993 episode transplanted some of the 1991 movie's most memorable moments to animation, with Sideshow Bob stalking Bart Simpson the way Robert De Niro's Max Cady, a recently released prisoner, sought revenge against his former lawyer in Scorsese's version.
The psychological thriller was then the most recent take on John D MacDonald's 1957 novel, The Executioners, first brought to the screen in 1962 by director J Lee Thompson.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in