The hero, usually a yuppie with a well-appointed home and satisfying personal life (like Sam Bowden), would be stalked by an interloper who would escalate the threats, Cady-style, and use the legal system to ruin the hero’s life before moving in for the kill. If “Fatal Attraction” depicted the one-night-stand from hell, then “Pacific Heights” featured the tenant from hell, while “Single White Female” featured the roommate from hell, “Sleeping With the Enemy” the ex-husband from hell, “Unlawful Entry” the cop from hell, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” the nanny from hell, and “The Temp” the secretary from hell.
‘Cape Fear’ at 50: How Robert Mitchum’s Max Cady fathered modern movie villainy
