--- title: "Cape Fear: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/cape-fear-1991/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/cape-fear-1991" critics_score: 57 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Cape Fear (1991): what the critics said Critics' score 57 from 9 reviews: 5 positive, 1 mixed, 3 negative. The reviews lean positive on Cape Fear, but the disagreements are substantial. Praise centres on Scorsese’s forceful direction and the performances, with De Niro’s menace and grotesque humour making the strongest impression on admirers. Several critics find an effective thriller beneath the excess: the early suspense, the lawyer’s troubled family and Juliette Lewis’s performance give them more to value than technical skill alone. The divide concerns how far that excess serves the film. Even favourable reviews acknowledge overstatement, with Empire finding the first hour’s quiet suspense more persuasive than the extravagant finale. The harsher assessments question more than restraint: the Los Angeles Times finds Scorsese’s ability to make an audience squirm troublingly sadistic. The New Yorker dissents most sharply, arguing that the attempted psychological depth weakens the horror and finding De Niro’s Cady uninteresting. The consensus is therefore divided over both the film’s methods and its central performance. ## Radio Times — John Ferguson Rating 4/5. Ferguson considers the film highly effective despite its over-the-top performance from De Niro. He singles out Scorsese’s portrayal of the lawyer’s family as the film’s strength. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-o1kfo5/cape-fear/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 November 2006. Newman calls it a damn good horror picture, despite its shift from subtle suspense to an over-the-top finale. He praises the lead performances and the first hour’s quietly scary logic. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/cape-fear-2-review/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1990. Variety calls the remake smart, stylish, and sharply written, with Scorsese’s forceful direction driving its disturbing material. It especially praises Robert De Niro’s memorable performance and Juliette Lewis’s portrayal of the troubled teen. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/cape-fear-3-1200428979/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 1991. The review is positive about Scorsese’s remake as an effective thriller. It singles out Robert De Niro’s menacing performance. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/13/movies/review-film-de-niro-as-revenge-seeker-in-scorsese-s-cape-fear.html) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page content is unavailable, so the critic’s verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be determined. The accessible text contains only a browser-check message. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cape-fear-1991) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). The review is skeptical, suggesting the remake falls short of Scorsese’s talents. It acknowledges the film’s technical bravura but sees that craft as unable to overcome its limitations. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cape-fear-1) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 November 1991. Turan finds the film expertly made but troublingly sadistic, questioning whether its thrills deserve applause. He singles out Scorsese’s skill at making the audience squirm as both the film’s achievement and its central problem. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-13-ca-1188-story.html) ## The New Yorker — Terrence Rafferty Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 1991. Rafferty calls Scorsese’s remake a disgrace, arguing that its attempts at moral and psychological depth undermine its visceral horror. He praises the original’s blunt suspense and Robert Mitchum’s physically unsettling performance, while faulting Robert De Niro’s Cady as uninteresting and merely symbolic. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1991/12/02/1991-12-02-156-tny-cards-000146071) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 November 2021. Nayman sees Scorsese’s remake as an unruly, often brilliant thriller that sometimes buckles under its excess. He especially praises De Niro’s feral, grotesque, and darkly comic performance as Max Cady. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2021/11/12/movies/cape-fear-robert-de-niro-martin-scorsese) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/cape-fear-1991.md