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Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley

Crime · Drama · Thriller · 2021

An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.

Movie details

Nightmare Alley

“Man or beast.”

2021 Crime · Drama · Thriller 2h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Nightmare Alley?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Air I Breathe

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The Grissom Gang

The Grissom Gang

Crime · 1971

Violent crime caper set in 1930s Kansas in which a gang kidnap an heiress and attempt to recover a ransom. However, the scheme is jeopardised when the leader falls in love with their beautiful captive.

House of Games

House of Games

Crime · 1987

A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.

King Ivory

King Ivory

Crime · 2025

Based on extensive research involving law enforcement and gang members, a never-before-seen, authentic look inside the underworld of fentanyl trafficking from gangs inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester a.k.a. "Big Mac."

Bound

Bound

Drama · 1996

Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her.

Carlito's Way

Carlito's Way

Crime · 1993

Free after years in prison, Carlito Brigante intends to give up his criminal ways, but it's not long before the ex-con is sucked back into the New York City underworld.

The Killing

The Killing

Crime · 1956

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

Eyes Wide Shut

Eyes Wide Shut

Drama · 1999

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

Casino

Casino

Crime · 1995

In Las Vegas, two best friends--a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.

Crash

Crash

Thriller · 1996

A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Guillermo del Toro

Written by

Guillermo del Toro · Kim Morgan

Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper

Stanton Carlisle

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Dr. Lilith Ritter

Toni Collette

Toni Collette

Zeena the Seer

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe

Clem Hoatley

Richard Jenkins

Richard Jenkins

Ezra Grindle

Rooney Mara

Rooney Mara

Molly Cahill

Ron Perlman

Ron Perlman

Bruno

Court is in session

Put Nightmare Alley on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.