Though "Nightmare Alley" is too long and meandering to totally work as a cohesive film, theres no doubt it has images that will stick with you none more so than its haunting final shot.

| Mar 26, 2022

The genuine, pleasant surprise for me was discovering truly what an unabashed, all-out noir it was. Blanchett's character, the big scheme, the hubris and pushing the scheme too far, the fatalism.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 10, 2022

The one to see is the one from 1947.

| Jan 29, 2022

It's hard to think of a noir story that would be better suited to del Toro as a director -- the arch-fabulist who fears men more than he does monsters.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 25, 2022

From its bruised colour palette to its spiralling descent into madness and degradation, this is deliciously damnable fare, looking back through the prism of Del Toro's adventurous oeuvre to the existential angst of his vampiric feature debut, Cronos.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 23, 2022

The journey taken by del Toro may be convoluted. Where he ends up, though, is a bad dream come true.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 22, 2022

An oddly literal melodrama about bad people doing very bad things, very slowly.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 21, 2022

It's impossible to tell whether del Toro is laughing up his sleeve or crossing his fingers that Blanchett's big moments will lead to another Oscar.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 20, 2022

Telling a story of alcoholism and despair, Del Toro just makes a movie, delivered in quote marks, polished to a shine. (Far too long as well.)

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 20, 2022

[A] strangely stiff and synthetic film...

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 20, 2022

Guillermo del Toro hits us with a spectacular noir melodrama boasting gruesomely enjoyable performances and freaky twists.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 20, 2022

Del Toro employs a mixture of stylish old Hollywood sensibilities with B movie tropes to bring us an engaging and gorgeously acted psychological thriller.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 20, 2022

If there's any justice in the world Del Toro and Blanchett will team up again.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 18, 2022

A rare del Toro film that's not an outright spook show, Nightmare Alley isn't quite the filmmaker's best - but it's not far off, boasting an enveloping atmosphere, compelling characters, and gorgeous filmmaking.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 17, 2022

Some have complained about the expansive running time (a half hour longer than the original), but this viewer isn't one of them; a film with this much mood and atmosphere can take its time.

| Dec 28, 2021

The second half is much more enjoyable, but by the end of it, [Nightmare Alley] left me cold.

| Dec 24, 2021

It's too long, too uneven in some places, too slow in others, and too flawed to be a masterpiece, but even with its drawbacks I could not take my eyes off the screen.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Dec 23, 2021

Nightmare Alley is a mesmerizing film of characters haunted by memory and regret, from Stan's nightmares of his father to the longing for the past of the socialites he cons.

| Dec 23, 2021

This isn't Simon Rex in Red Rocket or Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog. It's more Ben Platt in Dear Evan Hansen. It's a gamble that just doesn't pay off.

| Dec 21, 2021

Guillermo del Toro has a knack for combining spectacle with compelling themes, but his latest often fails on both counts.

| Dec 21, 2021