Nightmare Alley (dir. Guillermo del Toro), 2021

"If your foot slips, we both fall." The warning is imposed upon Stanton "Stan" Carlisle by the final act Nightmare Alley, who already has unknowingly stepped into a downward spiral. In fact, the first time we see him, Stan is concealing a corpse and lighting a house on fire before boarding a bus to its last stop: a traveling carnival. Stan is on the run, seemingly from his own resentments rather than the law itself. After observing a geek show with great horror, where the alcohol addicted and downtrodden are dehumanized for nefarious entertainment, Stan is offered odd jobs at the carnival. There, Stan meets a strange cast of characters, yet sees his own ticket to fame and fortune through the secrets and teachings of cast clairvoyant Zeena and her retired, alcoholic husband, Pete. What Stan can’t foresee beyond a brisk rise to the top is a potential fall that might deliver him directly into his own deep-seeded resentments. A slow burn thriller, Nightmare Alley is an enthralling and visually stunning ride for those willing to invest in the essential build-up.

The film, previously adapted from its source novel in 1947, has been a long-term passion project for director Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote Nightmare Alley with wife and film writer, Kim Morgan; and, this passion is fully evident in the finished product. Themes from the impeccably crafted script are threaded through the visual and technical details: circular symbolism, disorienting spatial effects, and the ambitious green and gold colors used in the production design; the rich, yet subtle noir score; and, the glowing cinematography sharply lit with primary colors and consistently shrouding Stan in the shadows. Consistently a visionary with seldom a poor film, Guillermo del Toro has only further honed his screenwriting and directorial prowess in the last decade, with gothic masterpiece Crimson Peak and romantic magical realism best picture winner The Shape of Water. Nightmare Alley feels like the culmination of this upward trajectory, fully nailing the script, visual details, and noteworthy performances (particularly from Bradley Cooper, who ambitiously carries as Stanton Carlisle) which make the film so lavishly appealing.

That all said, Nightmare Alley unfortunately has found little success at the box office and likely will be overlooked by mainstream award outlets (which normally may have offered a breath of life to a film which so desperately deserves reinvestment). Regardless of non-existent awards campaigns, an unfortunate release date against a Marvel blockbuster, and lack of investment from film-distributor Searchlight, just know if you skip Nightmare Alley you are missing out on one of the best films of 2021...

Rating: 10/10