Where to find it: Disney+
Length: Two and a half hours
Synopsis: Ambitious drifter climbs out of the carnivals but slips on a Freudian
Recommendation rating: 3/5
What I like about it: stylish, considered, compelling
What I don’t like about it: long, often unpleasant
Review:
Nightmare Alley (1947) was a great overlooked old noir – I confess I only saw it when I heard this remake was in production – about a drifter who joins the carnival and learns some mentalism tricks, using them to look out for himself and con everyone who cares about him until he meets his match in a wily psychologist. Remarkably dark and gritty for Hays Code Hollywood, it’s easy to see why it appealed to Guillermo Del Toro and this remake proves that the tale is a perfect match for his macabre visual genius. Particularly great are the larger-than-life carnival and Art Deco sets which present an absorbing imaginary world for a non-fantasy story, unusual ground for Del Toro but he packs plenty of fantasy into those visuals all the same.
Content notes (may contain spoilers): abuse, addiction, a man bites the head off a (convincing CGI) chicken, other grim CG violence