Martin Scorsese is primarily known for his work in the crime genre, helming such masterpieces as Goodfellas, Mean Streets, and Taxi Driver. But he’s occasionally forayed into other genres, like comedy (After Hours, The King of Comedy) and historical epic (Silence, Kundun). He’s hardly famous for his contributions to horror cinema, but he has directed a couple of fantastic scary movies.
Arguably his best horror movie is his 1991 remake of Cape Fear, starring Robert De Niro as a vengeful ex-convict, but a close second is his 2010 psychological thriller Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. Marshal investigating a missing mental patient who slowly loses his mind.
Cape Fear Is The Best: Robert De Niro Is Terrifying As Max Cady
Most remakes of movies with legendary actors giving iconic performances fail to hold a candle to the original. Against all odds, Robert De Niro managed to match the terror and intensity of Robert Mitchum’s portrayal of Max Cady, while also doing his own thing with the character.
De Niro’s performance as Cady doesn’t hold up to his dramatic turns in other Scorsese movies, like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, but he did create an unforgettable horror movie villain.
Shutter Island Is Second: The Movie Sinks Its Hooks Into Teddy’s Psychology
The very best psychological thrillers sink their hooks into the psychology of the lead character. But using the tricks in the cinematic playbook to put an audience inside somebody else’s mind is easier said than done.
By drawing on classic noir-tinged psychological thrillers like Vertigo and Out of the Past, Scorsese successfully brought Teddy Daniels’ skewed psyche to the screen.
Cape Fear Is The Best: The Straightforward Story Structure Works Wonders
The story structure of Cape Fear is pretty straightforward. A psychopath is released from prison and starts terrorizing the family and friends of the attorney who failed to defend him in court. So, the family is relocated by the feds and the psychopath follows them to their new home.
Scorsese didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, because the original Cape Fear already had an airtight plot. The scares arise naturally from that well-orchestrated structure.
Shutter Island Is Second: Its Visuals Are Haunting
The visuals in Shutter Island are appropriately haunting. The deeper Teddy gets into Ashecliffe Hospital, the darker and gloomier it gets.
Whenever the movie goes into his head for a flashback, the aesthetics are chilling but dare the audience to look away, like Teddy holding his wife as ash falls around them like snow or the horrifying revelation of his dead kids.
Cape Fear Is The Best: Scorsese Pushes Strong Themes Through A Traditional Hollywood Genre
Cape Fear finds Scorsese at his most mainstream. It’s one of the only times he’s tackled a traditional Hollywood genre and he doesn’t fail to deliver the goods.
But he also uses the construct of a well-worn genre to explore many of his usual themes, primarily guilt and the dichotomy of good and evil.
Shutter Island Is Second: It Plays Like A Big Operatic Twilight Zone Episode
From the protagonist questioning his own sanity to the carefully crafted journey to a jaw-dropping plot twist, Shutter Island plays a lot like an episode of The Twilight Zone.
But with its cinematic visual style and big-budget thrills, it’s more operatic and breathtaking than an episode of Rod Serling’s groundbreaking anthology series.
Cape Fear Is The Best: Bernard Herrmann’s Original Score Didn’t Lose Any Of Its Intensity
When Scorsese was recruited to remake Cape Fear, he knew that no composer would be able to top Bernard Herrmann’s tense score from the original, so he instead just hired Elmer Bernstein to rework Herrmann’s music.
Herrmann is known for scoring some of the greatest thrillers ever made – including Scorsese’s own Taxi Driver – so it’s no surprise that his music sets a beautifully tense atmosphere in Cape Fear.
Shutter Island Is Second: The Atmosphere Is Almost Unbearable
Scorsese’s greatest filmmaking achievement in Shutter Island is creating a palpable wall-to-wall atmosphere that telegraphs that something ominous is afoot.
As the tension gradually increases throughout the movie, it becomes almost unbearable – in a good way.
Cape Fear Is The Best: Scorsese Masterfully Captures Hitchcockian Suspense
In his use of lighting, camera angles, and editing tricks, Scorsese was heavily influenced by the work of Alfred Hitchcock, the undisputed master of the thriller genre, in his direction of Cape Fear.
Most filmmakers who try to emulate Hitchcock’s style fall flat, but in the hands of Scorsese, arguably the greatest living director, Cape Fear masterfully captures Hitchcockian suspense.
Shutter Island Is Second: It Has One Of The Most Shocking Twist Endings Of All Time
What fans remember most clearly about Shutter Island after watching it is its twist ending, which ranks among the most shocking of all time. It forces the audience to question their own conception of reality.
It also makes Shutter Island a movie that demands to be seen more than once. On second viewing, with the knowledge of the twist, it’s a totally different experience.
