By means of Jonathan Klotz
| has been updated
Hollywood is full of remakes, to the point that even seemingly original films are remakes, from Keanu Reeves Knock Knock (a remake of the 1977’s Game of Death) even in animated ones Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (this Flaming Saddles with anthropomorphic kung-fu dogs). In 2021, Guillermo del Toro brings his version of a classic to cinemas, bringing the noir classic Nightmare Alley back to the theaters that only the visionary director can create. Alas, history repeats itself, and like the first time, the second time around the film was still a box office flop, despite the A-list cast.
Nightmare Alley Is Classic Noir
Nightmare Alley Bradley Cooper stars as Stan Carlisle, a man who has hit rock bottom, and finds himself working at a carnival, scraped by Clem (Willem Dafoe) as part of the “clairvoyant” work of Madame Zeena (Toni Collette), where she knows the act of putting on a fake psychic routine. Infatuated with one of the performers, Molly (Rooney Mara), Stan takes to the streets and becomes a natural con artist, except there’s a problem, two actually: one, there’s always a bigger fish, and two, be warned- he is about pretending to talk to the dead.
During one of his performances, Stan was spotted by Dr. Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a skeptical psychologist who tries to prove that he is a fake, but it backfires and ends up knocking down the first domino leading to Stan’s complete downfall. Secrets come out, a reading goes too far, and like any good noir, there’s murder, and no one gets out unscathed. Nightmare Alley it may have the outward stylistic development of Guillermo del Toro, but underneath, it’s still a noir, with all the darkness that implies.
A Box Office Bomb That Will Have Audiences Thinking
Nightmare Alleyunlike much of del Toro’s best work, is not a story about the supernatural. Instead, it’s a beautifully shot story of a man on the brink and his swift, completely preventable fall as bad guys do bad things to each other with unintended consequences. Bradley Cooper gives a terrific performance as Stan and shows a level of talent that no one would expect from the jealous boyfriend of Wedding Crashers.
With a budget of $60 million, Nightmare Alley was a huge flop, earning only $39 million worldwide, and even though it was slated for release in December 2021, when COVID was still lingering and keeping older moviegoers from theaters, it was a disappointment . Those who saw the film enjoyed it, as evidence, it has a 68 percent audience rating rotten tomatoeswhich is very good for such a dark film. It’s not a great experience, and the haunting story will haunt you for days after watching it, but at the same time, there are some brand del Toro flourishes that remind you that he is one of the most very directors working today.
Nightmare Alley not for everyonebut with the recent success of Nosferatuit is a good time to go back of another classic remake from a lost era of Hollywood. There aren’t many noirs being made today, and one is considered modern sci-fi Noir, Reminiscence also failed to find an audience in 2021, it’s clear that no one is going to the cinemas for relentlessly dark films that involve more dialogue than your usual blockbuster. And yet, both films have recently found an audience streamingproving that when given the chance, they win over fans and slowly, quietly become modern cult classics.
Nightmare Alley is available to stream on Hulu.
