Cape Fear (1962)

Lawyer Sam Bowden is enjoying a cushy life when a Max Cady, a nasty piece of work from his past, shows up in town. Max has spent the last 8 years in jail studying the law and planning revenge on Sam for his part in putting him there. He's a truly scary dude who knows just how far he can go without putting a toe over the legal line. Bowden is aware that the law won't help him until after there's an actual crime and is not OK with the wait & see approach when it's his family at risk.

The tension is so thick that I had to take a break in the middle of watching. Very well done, but Max is also just incredibly depraved making it difficult to be entertained. The script is smart enough to let our minds fill in blanks rather than to spell everything out, but I guess my mind can be a terrifying place. I mean, when a visibly traumatized prostitute couldn't even talk about what he did to her, it stopped being fun.

B-