I consider myself a pretty massive Guillermo del Toro fan. Having made my top two favorite films of all time (Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water), he may be my current favorite director. That being said it was hard for me to get excited for this. It just seemed like such a basic, unexciting choice compared to his other work. Especially coming off the back of a best picture winner. Boy, was my stupid self wrong. This is essentially a tale about how cruel people can be. Nearly everybody in it is lying to, manipulating, and/or taking advantage of others for their own personal gain. It shares some similar vibes to Uncut Gems in that we're watching the main character engage in an incredibly risky game that will either lead to a massive payday or just as easily get him killed. All the while being treated to del Toro's always excellent visuals and fantastic performances across the board. Nightmare Alley is one of those rare movies that can keep you hooked without really giving you anyone to truly root for. It's clear early on that Bradley Cooper is not portraying a good person. Instead someone who remorselessly exploits those around him without a care in the world. His self-serving sickness and lust for wealth slowly devours him as he attempts to pull off a con of remarkable complexity and deception against multiple marks at once, while we the audience anxiously wait to see if he'll succeed or get caught by the forces of karma. It's incredibly gripping to watch. If there's one flaw it would be that the middle portion of the feature does lose a bit of steam. After the carnival setting is ditched following the first hour the pacing drops to a noticeable degree. Not enough to ruin the experience, but it can be felt and your interest might wane ever so slightly. Luckily, the final act more than makes up for it with a surge in the stakes and danger that leads to a terrific conclusion. I remember finding del Toro's announcements of the two projects he would be working on upon finishing his 2017 masterpiece to be rather underwhelming. Finally watching the first of them however has fully revealed to me how foolish I was for that. I'm actually super stoked for his upcoming Pinocchio adaptation now. This is his first offering to not feature ghosts, monsters, or any aspect of the supernatural at all. Yet, you wouldn't be able to tell that as it maintains the exact same level of quality as the very best of his filmography. Make no mistake, this is a top notch dramatic thriller well-deserving of nearly winning its director another Academy Award (or three or four) in his past two releases.