Cape Fear (Scorsese) - Cady as Bowden's Dark Passenger?

Okay, so I just finished watching Cape Fear (the Scorsese one from '91, obvi). Man, De Niro is terrifying in that movie. Like, crawl-under-the-covers-terrifying. But what's been bugging me since the credits rolled is how much Max Cady feels like some kind of twisted, hyper-violent manifestation of Sam Bowden's own repressed guilt or something. Hear me out. Think about it: Bowden, the supposedly good guy, buried evidence to put Cady away in the first place. He's got this perfect little life, but underneath it all, he's compromised. Cady literally forces Bowden to confront his past actions and the rot beneath his suburban veneer. The whole time I'm watching, I'm wondering if Scorsese is trying to say that Cady IS Bowden, or at the very least, a part of himself that Bowden has kept locked away. Like maybe if Bowden just confessed everything about what he did, Cady would just....disappear? I'm not saying that Bowden caused what Cady did to those people, but the movie sure makes it seem like Cady is there to punish Bowden specifically, like karma coming back with a vengeance. And that freaky climax during the storm with the Bowden family clinging to that boat? That felt straight out of a nightmare, or a heavy fever dream. Maybe it's the southern gothic vibes or the intensity of the score, but the Bowdens were not just fighting an external threat -- they were fighting something inside themselves. I know the movie doesn't explicitly say anything like that, but this whole kinda "doppleganger of guilt" thing is my main takeaway. I need to watch it again and pay really close attention to Bowden's reactions vs. Cady's motivations. Anyway, that's my late-night rambling. Anyone else ever get that vibe? Or am I just reaching after too much caffeine and bad pizza? Feel free to call me out if I'm off base...or suggest another movie with similar subtext. I'm always looking for something new to watch, even if it scares me half to death lol.