Nightmare Alley trailer: Will Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett’s dangerous game catch up with them?

Guillermo del Toro is all set to enthrall and unsettle viewers yet again with his latest directorial venture, Nightmare Alley. The noir thriller’s latest trailer was released recently by Searchlight Pictures.

The film tells the story of a manipulative carnival worker Stan Carlisle, played by Bradley Cooper, who teams up with an equally scheming psychiatrist by the name of Dr. Lilith Ritter, portrayed by Cate Blanchett. The duo together use their wits to swindle millionaires.

Check out the trailer here.

The beginning of the trailer itself shows Carlisle in trouble, as he is hooked up to a lie detector test. The series of questions asked by the authorities hints at just the kind of trouble he might be in- the man claims to be a medium or ‘mind reader’. His claims lead him to be on the radar of the authorities. A shot of him desperately trying to escape, hands bloodied, shows dangerously close he gets to being caught.

Carlisle is also seen having a close relationship with calculating psychiatrist Dr. Ritter. Some perfectly placed visually appealing shots signal at the gothic-noir treat in store.

The character posters of the ensemble cast, including Cooper, Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Ron Perlman, David Strathairn, Richard Jenkins, and Mary Steenburgen, were also released.

The film is based on William Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name. In conversation with Collider, Del Toro had revealed that the upcoming film would be different from his usual works. Although the Academy Award winning director is most well known for his fantasy films, Nightmare Alley will be set in the ‘real world’.

Nightmare Alley will have a worldwide theatrical release on December 17, 2021.