Cape Feare/References

References/Trivia

Cultural References

The whole episode is a parody of the 1962 film, Cape Fear.
The Simpsons and Sideshow Bob watch the movie Ernest Goes Somewhere Cheap, an obvious parody of Jim Varney's "Ernest" movies.
Sideshow Bob's prison number for this episode is A113. A113 is a little known easter egg Brad Bird puts into the movies and cartoons he makes, such as this episode, all Pixar films, two other Simpsons episodes (Krusty Gets Busted and Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming), and other productions.
In the town of Terror Lake, Sideshow Bob stays at the Bates Motel, a reference to Psycho.
After boarding the Thompsons' houseboat, Bob attacks Bart with a machete, a possible reference to Friday the 13th movies, where the killer Jason Voorhees uses a machete as his primary weapon.

While the entire episode is a reference to the original Cape Fear film, one scene specifically referenced the 1991 remake. When Sideshow Bob is in a movie theatre, smoking and laughing uproariously, it is similar to the poor conduct of Max Cady (played by Robert De Niro) in a movie house where he laughs loudly at the film Problem Child, annoying the other moviegoers.

This episode was banned in Germany due to the amount of violence and tension in this episode, and also due to the beginning featuring a character holding the ranking of Obergrupperfuehrer and wearing a complete SS officer's uniform. (Germany has laws prohibiting the use of Nazi references and symbols; for example, displaying the swastika is an offense punishable by up to one year of imprisonment.)
Irony: Towns with scary-sounding names (Cape Fear, New Horrorfield, Screamville and Terror Lake) being suggested as relocation options for the Simpsons so they can stop living in fear of Sideshow Bob.
This episode was the last episode produced by original team that did the show.
"Spay Anything," the Itchy & Scratchy Show cartoon shown during the episode, is a parody of Goldfinger.