Stan burns down his home and takes a job as a carny with a traveling carnival. Stan is disturbed at how any man could sink to the level of performing as a geek. Clem explains that he seeks out alcoholic or drug-addicted men with troubled pasts, and lures them in with promises of a "temporary" job and opium-laced alcohol. He then uses their dependence until they sink into madness and depravity, thus creating a new geek. Stan also works with clairvoyant act "Madame Zeena" and h... (Full plot summary below)
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Stan burns down his home and takes a job as a carny with a traveling carnival. Stan is disturbed at how any man could sink to the level of performing as a geek. Clem explains that he seeks out alcoholic or drug-addicted men with troubled pasts, and lures them in with promises of a "temporary" job and opium-laced alcohol. He then uses their dependence until they sink into madness and depravity, thus creating a new geek. Stan also works with clairvoyant act "Madame Zeena" and her alcoholic husband, Pete. He and Zeena warn Stan not to ever use these skills otherwise people get hurt. Meanwhile Stan becomes attracted to fellow performer Molly and approaches her with an idea for a two-person act away from the carnival.
Leave your thoughts about Nightmare Alley.
| The IndependentClarisse LoughreyDel Toro can do worldbuilding in his sleep, but you might also find Cooper’s brittle performance, filled with such elemental sadness, hard to shake off. Nightmare Alley is the shadow that lingers. |
| The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeYears ago, I compared Del Toro to Orson Welles, a film-maker who instinctively understood the hypnotic power of cinema to dazzle, delight and deceive. On the basis of Nightmare Alley, which is blessed with more than a touch of evil, that’s a comparison by which I still stand. |
| RogerEbert.comCarlos AguilarEven those unfamiliar with one or both materials can detect the cyclical parable del Toro establishes through his understanding and repurposing of noir tropes, both visual and thematic. His “Nightmare Alley” is a movie of psychological tunnels and downward spirals. |
| NMEPaul BradshawJust as ugly and beautiful as any classic noir, del Toro’s dark, dazzling three-ring Hollywood circus proves the old-fashioned event film still has a lot of life left. |
| New York PostJohnny OleksinskiThe last time Guillermo del Toro directed a movie, 2017’s The Shape of Water, he won the Best Picture Oscar. His latest, Nightmare Alley, probably won’t, but it is nonetheless a far more entertaining and satisfying film than its overrated science-fiction predecessor. |
| LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenLike each of del Toro’s nastier pictures, Nightmare Alley closes in on you with a hellish elegance. |
| We Got This CoveredDanny PetersonOverall, the writing, performances, direction, and cinematography of Nightmare Alley are all top notch in virtually every way. |
| VarietyPeter DebrugeA gorgeous, fantastically sinister moral fable about the cruel predictability of human nature and the way entire systems — from carnies and con men to shrinks and Sunday preachers — are engineered to exploit it. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreStunningly-detailed, with an A-list cast up and down the line, it’s a gorgeous and gloomy dip into the dark side, immersive and bleak from start to finish. |
| ReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe darkness isn’t skin-deep; it permeates the material. Nightmare Alley may not be the feel-good film of 2021 but it leaves a lasting impression. |
