Loved ‘Cape Fear’? Here’s what to watch next
Loved ‘Cape Fear’? Here’s what to watch next
Whether Max Cady’s mind games or the Bowdens’ crumbling home life grabbed you, one of these creepy shows should be next.
Tara and I are completely hooked on “Cape Fear” on Apple TV. Neither of us had watched the 1991 movie or read the book, so we went into this knowing nothing. And wow, it gets dark. Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson play Anna and Tom Bowden, married attorneys whose lives start coming apart when Max Cady (played incredibly by Javier Bardem), a killer they helped put in prison, gets out and comes looking for them. What makes the show so creepy isn’t just whether Max is going to hurt somebody — it’s how easily he gets inside the Bowdens’ home, marriage, and heads. And with the season finale dropping Friday, July 31, I’m sure you’re already thinking about what to watch next. So, here are the four creepy thrillers to watch if you loved “Cape Fear.”
Cape Fear
When convicted murderer Max Cady is released from prison, he begins infiltrating the family of the married attorneys who helped put him behind bars.
If Max Cady got in your head, watch: ‘The Following’
“The Following” starts with former FBI agent Ryan Hardy getting pulled back into the worst part of his life. Years earlier, he caught Joe Carroll, a serial killer, English professor, and novelist who’s obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. The case left Ryan physically and emotionally wrecked, but at least Carroll was locked away. Then Carroll escapes, and Ryan learns that prison didn’t stop him from planning. It gave him time to build a cult of followers who are ready to kill for him.
The connection to “Cape Fear” is the idea that the villain hasn’t just returned… he’s been waiting for this. Max Cady turns revenge into a slow attack on one family, while Joe Carroll turns it into a whole operation involving kidnappings, FBI investigations, and people hiding in plain sight. “The Following” is faster, bloodier, and a lot more pulpy, but Carroll has that same unnerving confidence. He doesn’t only want Ryan dead. He wants to control the story and make Ryan live inside it. If you want the Max Cady mind games blown up into full serial-killer cult chaos, start here.
The Following
Notorious serial killer Joe Carroll, after being found guilty of murdering 14 female students on the Virginia college campus where he taught literature, escapes from death row. The FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy to consult on the case, as he was the one responsible for Carroll’s capture in 2003. Ryan, working closely with an FBI team, including Mike Weston and FBI Specialist Debra Parker, piece together the ever-growing web of murders orchestrated by the devious Carroll.
Want something even darker? Try: ‘Hannibal’
“Hannibal” follows Will Graham, a gifted FBI profiler who can get so deeply inside a killer’s thinking that it starts doing real damage to him. Jack Crawford brings Will in to help solve brutal murders, then pairs him with respected psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. Hannibal seems helpful, calm, and extremely civilized. The problem, of course, is that he’s also a killer, and Will is trusting him with the most vulnerable parts of his mind.
Tara and I have watched “Hannibal,” and fair warning, this one is darker than “Cape Fear.” There are more murders, more horror, and some crime scenes that are genuinely hard to shake. But the connection between the shows is very specific. Max Cady and Hannibal Lecter are both terrifying because they understand people. They know where the weak spots are, and they’re patient enough to keep pushing until something breaks. The difference is that Max attacks a family from the outside, while Hannibal gets invited into Will’s head as someone who’s supposed to help him. If the intelligent, weirdly magnetic villain is what keeps pulling you back to “Cape Fear,” “Hannibal” takes that idea somewhere even more disturbing.
Hannibal
Both a gift and a curse, Graham has the extraordinary ability to think like his prey—he sees what they see, feels what they feel. But while Graham is pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford teams him with a highly respected psychiatrist – a man with a taste for the criminal minded – Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
For the creepiest house on the list, watch: ‘Servant’
“Servant” centers on Dorothy and Sean Turner, a Philadelphia couple whose marriage is already cracking under the weight of a terrible loss. They hire a young nanny named Leanne to care for their baby, and from the moment she arrives, something feels wrong. The show keeps nearly everything inside the Turners’ house, where grief, denial, religion, and possibly something supernatural all start getting tangled together.
Honestly, “Servant” may be the creepiest show here. It isn’t built around constant jump scares though. It’s scary because every conversation, meal, hallway, and closed door feels seriously off. That shares a lot with “Cape Fear,” especially the way both shows turn a family’s home into the last place anyone wants to be. “Servant” is slower and more mysterious, and it doesn’t give the threat a clear shape as quickly as “Cape Fear” does. But if what grabbed you was that growing feeling that something has entered the house and is pulling a damaged family further apart, this is the closest match.
Servant
A Philadelphia couple are in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.
Wildcard pick: ‘Widow’s Bay’
This is my favorite show on the list. “Widow’s Bay” takes place on an isolated New England island where Mayor Tom Loftis is desperate to bring in tourists and get the town back on its feet. The locals keep warning him that the island is cursed, which he treats like the kind of nonsense that’s holding everyone back. Then tourists start showing up, the old stories stop sounding so ridiculous, and Tom has to deal with the possibility that his town’s biggest problem isn’t bad publicity after all.
For me, the tone is what I really like about “Widow’s Bay.” It isn’t as suffocating as “Cape Fear,” and the horror-comedy gives it room to be funny, but don’t mistake that for it being harmless. It gets creepy and even downright scary. The big difference is that “Cape Fear” traps one family with a predator, while “Widow’s Bay” makes an entire town feel unsafe. Tom keeps trying to act like he’s in control, but the island doesn’t care about his plans, his title, or how badly he wants everything to look normal. The show is getting a lot of attention for a reason. If you want the coastal unease and creeping dread of “Cape Fear,” but you’re ready for something stranger and a little funnier, this is a great wildcard.
Widow’s Bay
The mayor of a New England town resolves to turn it into the next tourist hot spot, despite local warnings that it’s cursed.
More to watch after finishing ‘Cape Fear’:
‘The Watcher’ | Netflix
The Watcher
Ominous letters. Strange neighbors. Sinister threats. A family moves into their suburban dream home, only to discover they’ve inherited a nightmare.
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ | Netflix
The Haunting of Hill House
Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
‘Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen’ | Netflix
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
A bride has a feeling that something horrifying will happen at her wedding — and the closer to the altar she gets, the worse it becomes.
‘The Sinner’ | Netflix
The Sinner
In a small New York town, a haunted detective hunts for answers about perplexing crimes while wrestling with his own demons.