An R-rated remake of the thriller that no one saw again in theaters via Hulu

The author Jonathan Klotz
| Published 7 seconds ago

Hollywood is filled with remakes to the point that even seemingly original movies are actually Keanu Reeves movies. Knock Knock (1977 remake A game of death) even animations Paws of Wrath: The Legend of Hank (that is Flaming saddle with anthropomorphic kung-fu dogs). In 2021, Guillermo del Toro brought his version of the classic to theaters, bringing the noir classic. Alley of nightmares back to theaters as only a director who has seen could. Unfortunately, history repeated itself, and just like the first time around, the second time around was still a box office flop despite an A-list cast.

Nightmare Alley is classic noir

Alley of nightmares Starring Bradley Cooper as Stan Carlyle, a man who has hit rock bottom and works at a carnival, ber Clem (Willem Dafoe) as part of a “clairvoyant” act by Mrs. Zane (Toni Collette), in which he learns to enact a fake psychic routine. Infatuated with one of the performers, Molly (Rooney Mara), Stan takes to the road and proves to be a natural con artist, except for one problem, two in fact: one, there's always a bigger fish, and two, he's been warned about pretending to talk to the dead.

At one of his shows, Stan encounters Dr. Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a skeptical psychologist who tries to prove him to be a fake, but it backfires and ends up knocking down the first domino to Stan's complete collapse. Secrets are revealed, the reading goes too far, and as with any good noir, a murder ensues and no one gets away unscathed. Alley of nightmares may have the outward stylistic flourishes of Guillermo del Toro, but underneath it's still noir with all the darkness that implies.

A box office bomb that asks the audience to think

Alley of nightmaresunlike most of del Toro's best works, there is no story about the supernatural. Instead, it's a beautifully shot story about a man on the edge and his quick, entirely preventable downfall, when bad people do bad things to each other with unexpected results. Bradley Cooper gives a haunting performance as Stan and shows a level of talent that no one would have ever expected from a jealous bride. Wedding Crashers.

With a budget of 60 million dollars Alley of nightmares was a huge flop, earning just $39 million worldwide, and while that was attributed to its December 2021 release when COVID was still lingering and keeping older moviegoers out of theaters, it's still a disappointment. Those who have seen the film liked it, as evidenced by 68 percent of viewers Rotten tomatoeswhich is exceptionally good for such a dark film. It's not a pleasant experience, and the harrowing story will haunt you for days after watching it, but at the same time, there are some of del Toro's trademark flourishes that remind you that he's one of the best directors working today.

Alley of nightmares not for everyonebut with recent success Nosferatunow is a great time to go back to another classic remake from a lost era in Hollywood. There isn't much noir these days, and given the modern science fiction noir, Reminiscence also failed to find an audience in 2021, it's clear that no one will go to the theaters for relentlessly dark films that contain much more dialogue than your standard blockbuster. And yet both films have recently found an audience streamingproving that once given the chance, they will win over fans and slowly, quietly become modern cult classics.

Alley of nightmares is available to stream on Hulu.