So if you know me, you know I’m a big Guillermo del Toro fan. I have been for many years. I have watched all of Guillermo del Toro’s movies at length, have talked about any new film of his coming out as part of the 2025 movie schedule, and have essentially become a fangirl for a man who has been making movies long before I was born.
But honestly, it’s been a bit since I’ve watched every single one of Guillermo del Toro’s movies in succession. Like, a long time. I have watched his new releases and occasionally revisited all the old ones, but it has been ages since I did an entire Guillermo del Toro marathon. So, I decided to check it out over the last few weeks. And I’m honestly shocked at the movie I ended up loving the most.
A Lot Of His Earlier Films Are Great
It’s rare that we talk about a famous director and say that his most recent work is his best work. I feel as if we always relate to the classics. For any of the Christopher Nolan movies, people will often cite The Dark Knight as his best, or Inception, or maybe even Interstellar. Some might say Oppenheimer which is good, but I still think some of his past work is the best.
Maybe for the best Steven Spielberg movies, they’ll talk about Jurassic Park or Schindler’s List. But for Guillermo del Toro? I actually think his movies got much better as he kept making them. I don’t think his past work is his best.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s still good. He wouldn’t have become a master of horror and fantasy if it weren’t. His two Hellboy films are still some great superhero movies that have nothing to do with any modern superhero universes. Blade II is still iconic. Pan’s Labyrinth is fantastic as well. If anything, I would say that it is the film that made Guillermo del Toro. And for a long time, it was my favorite one he had done. But there’s one movie that surpassed all of that – one I have to talk about.
However, Nightmare Alley Became My Favorite By Far, And Is Even Better A Second Time Around
I bet you weren’t expecting that, but yeah, Nightmare Alley is legit one of Guillermo del Toro’s best films – and one that I actually ended up loving so much.
You’d think by the name it would end up becoming one of the best horror movies out there, but Nightmare Alley isn’t really a horror film. In fact, it’s a neo-noir psychological thriller. It’s the type of film that not a lot of people would connect del Toro to because he’s mainly known for fantasy and horror (as well as some dips into heroes). But this movie, based on the 1946 novel of the same name, hits.
The premise of Nightmare Alley, if you haven’t seen it (like many others haven’t), is simply surrounding a carnival worker who takes some dangerous risks in order to make a buck and boost his career to a higher status, but as time goes on, these jobs turn more sinister, and his life is turned upside down.
This movie takes the thriller genre and turns it on its head. It’s not like a David Fincher film, where you’ll be scratching your head by the end of it, wondering what was right and what was wrong. This film is essentially the definition of “thriller.” It is thrilling because you truly never know what you are going to see next.
I Still Love Pinocchio, But Nightmare Alley Is So Creative
I once wrote an entire article back in 2022 when Pinocchio was released about the feelings I had watching that film and how it surpassed every other del Toro film. That movie came out after Nightmare Alley, and I think, because it had been some time since I saw Nightmare Alley, I didn’t appreciate it as much. That being said, Pinocchio is still one of my favorite del Toro films, and it made me so emotional.
But when I watched Nightmare Alley, I realized that a lot of the emotions I felt during Pinocchio were carried over into Nightmare Alley. They are two very different films, for two very different audiences (unless you’re like me, a pure cinephile), but I often found myself feeling the same amount of thrilling pleasure and intensity watching Nightmare Alley as I did Pinocchio, because del Toro was able to craft what happened in the film in such a way that I was on the edge of my seat.
It was then that I realized Nightmare Alley had surpassed my top spot. To create a good thriller, you have to dive deep into the mental state of the viewer. You, as a writer and director, must discover what makes the brain tick. And when I realized I was feeling a lot of the same feelings I felt during Pinocchio as I watched this film, it really did shift my perspective.
The Nightmare Alley cast was a big reason as to why. They did such a good job portraying these characters that now, I find it almost hard to separate them from their real-life counterparts. The story hooked me instantly, and the feelings were everywhere. Just an utter amount of craft poured into this film. I might be crazy comparing it to Pinocchio, but hey, it’s what I felt.
It's A Shame That It Came Out During A Time Where Not As Many People Saw The Film In Theaters
This is the biggest tragedy of them all. This film came out during a time when hardly anyone was going to the theaters, back in December 2021. The only thing that really came out during that time that made a serious splash was Spider-Man: No Way Home and all its fan service.
Nightmare Alley was part of a slew of Academy Award-winning features that came out, which were not as widely seen because they were in theaters. This included Steve Spielberg’s West Side Story, Licorice Pizza, and more. Some great ones were released on streaming that earned a lot of praise, but it makes me sad that Nightmare Alley never got that same amount back then, due to the theater situation post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Either way, at least now it’s available to watch online, and it’s one of those films that I must recommend you watch. It’s really not scary, and features some incredible moments of cinematography and acting that I really think deserve way more love and attention.
Honestly, del Toro has another film releasing in 2025, Frankenstein, so you might as well check out his last live-action film in the meantime. I’m going to go and rewatch it for fun, if you don’t mind me.
