ABOVE AVERAGE

A sweaty miniseries set in Savannah, Georgia that fused both John D. MacDonald’s novel and the two film adaptations into one extended story that tries to dig deeper into Max Cady’s background, as well as creating a complicated bond between him and the less-than-innocent Bowdens who have to face him again. His elaborate quest for revenge also targets their teenage children, which helps the story find new ways to shock and thrill.

Borrows much of Martin Scorsese’s over-the-top approach in the 1991 film; exhausting at times, especially near the end, but impossible to take your eyes off, even when you find the story hard to believe.

Javier Bardem is spellbinding.

2026-U.S. 511 min. Color. Widescreen. Created by Nick Antosca. Novel: John D. MacDonald (”The Executioners”). Cast: Javier Bardem (Max Cady), Amy Adams (Anna Bowden), Patrick Wilson (Tom Bowden), Joe Anders, Lily Collias, CCH Pounder, Juliette Lewis, Ted Levine, Ron Perlman. 

Trivia: Co-executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Scorsese, Bardem and Adams. Originally shown in ten episodes. Morten Tyldum directed the pilot.

Last word: “[Scorsese] would say, ‘Try rolling this cut five frames and see if that helps,’ or ‘Try intercutting these two scenes.’ Little things made it so much better, so that was great. He would say if he thought something wasn’t working, but it was always encouraging. It was always generous and collaborative.” (Antosca, Indiewire)