Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican master of horror, will be back in theaters December 17, with a new film to give you the shivers. Warch a sneak peek of del Toro’s Nightmare Alley.

Trailer Park

All-Star Cast

Del Toro has gathered an all-star cast, with Bradley Cooper (the voice of Rocket Racoon in the MCU) as unscrupulous carny Stan Carlisle takes us to the scariest carnival since Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. Cate Blanchett plays Lilith Ritter. You’ll remember Blanchett as the evil Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the mighty Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s LOTR movies. She played the wicked stepmother in Disney’s love-action remake of Cinderella. Rooney Mara co-stars as Molly. Previously, Mara played M in A Ghost Story. She starred as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Frequent del Toro colleague Ron Perlman (Beauty & the Beast, Ice Pirates, Hellboy, In the Name of the King, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Name of the Rose, Quest for Fire, Pinocchio) portrays Bruno. Troy James (Rag Doll in The Flash, Baba Yaga in Hellboy) plays the carnival’s Snake Man. Fan favorite David Hewlett (Kung Fu: the Legend Continues, Stargate: Atlantis, The Shape of Water, Dark Matter) portrays Dr. Elrood. Supernatural‘s Jim Beaver plays Sheriff Jedediah Judd. David Straithairn, who first came to geekish attention as Dr. Lee Rosen in Alphas and then again as Admiral Stenz in two Godzilla movies, plays Pete Krumbein. Mary Steenbergen (Time After Time, Back to the Future) plays Miss Harrington.

Is it Man or Beast?

Is it man or beast? What is the creature on display in the carnival? Is it a prisoner or a carnival employee? Is that the primary mystery of Nightmare Alley or just a minor subplot?

“In Nightmare Alley, an ambitious carny (Bradley Cooper) with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who is even more dangerous than he is.” What trouble will Stan and Lilith get into together? Who will still maintain their sanity by the end of the movie?

In Theaters Only, December 17, 2021

Friday, December 17, 2021, both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guilllermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley are scheduled to be released. Which one will you be going to see?

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.