150 minutes – Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Noir
Language: English
Release date: December 1, 2021 (World Premiere, New York City)
Release date: December 17, 2021 (General release)
Production companies: TSG Entertainment, Double Dare You Productions
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures

Based on the 1946 William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name, Nightmare Alley is not a remake of the 1947 noir film but a retelling of the original book in a screenplay by director Guillermo del Toro and Kim Morgan. The film focuses on Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words. He hooks up with a corrupt psychiatrist, Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), who proves to be as dangerous as he is. Shot in and around Toronto and Buffalo, New York, principal photography began in January 2020 in Toronto, but was shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in September 2020 and concluded that December.

NOTE: We are not sure if this is technically a “Canadian movie,” but we’ve included it in the database based on its shooting location, the large number of Canadian actors and its Canadian co-producer, J. Miles Dale, who described the film as being about “The importance of truth and the danger of believing our own lies. Pretty relevant to what’s going on around us these days.”