With Apple TV setting a premiere date of June 5, 2026, for its Cape Fear remake, a rewatch of the films that inspired the upcoming 10-part psychological thriller series feels like a given. There’s just one problem, neither is streaming at the time of writing.
John D. MacDonald’s novel The Executioners about an attorney stalked by a criminal they helped convict was the original inspiration for J. Lee Thompson’s breakout Hollywood movie Cape Fear. Released in 1962, the southern gothic spine-chiller was widely praised for its suffocating sense of dread, with many critics highlighting Robert Mitchum’s performance as ex-con Max Cady and Bernard Herrmann’s sinister score.
