Overall, Nightmare Alley is a pleasant surprise. Guillermo del Toro is known for his breadth of knowledge and love for cinema. The film is evocative of film noir, yet would not easily fit into that malleable category. It is an exploration of man’s failure. The sins of humanity are laid bare before us for our examination. No one is free from sin in this film.” Nightmarish Conjurings
” …del Toro and Morgan take their time unfolding the story, particularly once the carnival has been left behind; there are times when it feels like the movie is simmering when it should be building to a boil. Yet even if one misses the midway attractions conjured up by production designer Tamara Deverell (a funhouse mixing menace with metaphor is particularly striking), the entirety of Nightmare Alley is gorgeous to look at…” Rue Morgue
” …del Toro’s remake of Nightmare Alley is less a living and breathing movie than a fossilized riff on the idea of a movie, particularly the American noir.” Slant
” …everything in Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley looks gorgeous. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot going on under the art direction […] He’s clearly an admirer of the original […] but he doesn’t seem to be rethinking or even repeating the material. The results play more like an empty impersonation…” The Wrap
Release:
Nightmare Alley is scheduled to be released by Searchlight Pictures on December 17, 2021.
Main cast and characters:
Rooney Mara … Molly
Cate Blanchett … Lilith Ritter
Paul Anderson
Bradley Cooper … Stanton ‘Stan’ Carlisle
Mary Steenburgen … Miss Harrington
Toni Collette … Zeena Krumbein
Willem Dafoe … Clem Hoately
Ron Perlman … Bruno
David Strathairn … Pete Krumbein
Holt McCallany … Anderson
Clifton Collins Jr.
Tim Blake Nelson … Carny Boss
Jim Beaver … Sheriff Jedediah Judd
Richard Jenkins … Ezra Grindle
Lara Jean Chorostecki … Louise
David Hewlett … Doctor Elrood
Dian Bachar … Fee Fee the Birdgirl
Mark Povinelli … The Major
Technical details:
2 hours 30 minutes
Audio: D-Cinema 48kHz | 5.1 Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Production:
Principal photography began in January 2020. In March of the same year, Searchlight Pictures halted the production of the film for health safety. Production resumed in September 2020. By November 2020, filming had already finished and reshoots occurred. Production officially wrapped on December 12, 2020.
Trailer:
Teaser trailer:
Clip:
Critics’ consensus rating:
