Step right up and behold! Prepare to be affronted, entranced and thoroughly spooked. From the champion of the chilling, the sultan of the sinister, one of the best filmmakers working today, Guillermo del Toro presents for your viewing pleasure… “Nightmare Alley.”
Since his Best Picture win at the 2018 Oscars with “The Shape of Water,” renowned writer and director Guillermo del Toro had been relatively quiet in the world of filmmaking. He wasn't entirely silent howver, lending a helping hand as a writer and producer on various other projects such as 2019’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and Scott Cooper’s 2021 release “Antlers”. While the Mexican-born filmmaker may have seemed content to take a backseat in the years since his Oscar win, his new picture “Nightmare Alley” announces his roaring return to form as a true master of the macabre.
Almost an immeasurable amount has changed in the world since del Toro’s last feature, but “Nightmare Alley” is a ringing endorsement of why the director’s past work was so appreciated. Expertly shot and directed, the film centers on Stanton Carlile (Bradley Cooper), a drifter with a murky past who finds employment at a carnival in the mid 1940s. Carlile eventually discovers a knack for performing as a psychic, and spins his talents for reading people and gentle persuasion into his own traveling mentalism act.
Things take a turn however, when Carlile crosses paths with Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchette), a psychologist who’s just as quick on her feet as Carlile, and even more devious. Together, the two begin a partnership in grifting Ritter’s wealthy patients by preying on their grief and gullibility. As their scam continues, it becomes apparent that Carlile may be in too deep as he races to pull off one last job before things come to a head.
“Nightmare Alley” is chock-full of the creepy, unsettling inclinations that del Toro is known for. His unique sensibilities turn what should be a colorful, fun filled two and a half hours at the carnival into a bleak and sinister portrait of the dark side of human nature. Gone are the bright reds and yellows that flutter around the rides and fun houses. Instead replaced by an undersaturated, washed-out color palette that turns everything into varying shades of gray; including the constant rain and snow that pelt the carnival tents and New York City high-rise windows.
Aside from Cooper and Blanchette’s equally excellent work, Rooney Mara gets a lot of well-deserved time as Carlile’s timid-but-true girlfriend and performing partner. Mara’s eyes are perhaps the only pair through which the audience can see, and her character provides some much needed light in the dark and dreary world del Toro has created. Other standouts from the ensemble cast are Willem Dafoe and Toni Collete. Dafoe — who has been on an absolute tear over the past few years — is unsurprisingly brilliant in his limited role. His aura of genuine awfulness and disregard for basic human decency set the tone for the film from the very beginning.
In addition to creating a thoroughly spooky and sinister visual language to reel in both the initiated and unsuspecting, “Nightmare Alley” is a marvel of pacing. At no point during its 150-minute runtime does the film feel lost or sluggish. Instead, the slow-burning, constantly-mounting feeling of ominous dread permeates every pixel and seeps into the theater.
This latest offering from del Toro may not receive as much attention as his last picture, but it in no way is a step down from his previous work. “Nightmare Alley” fits squarely into del Toro’s filmography, and is the truest translation of his style since “Pan’s Labyrinth.” If “The Shape of Water” was the ice cream sundae, this is the cherry, hot fudge and sprinkles on top.
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