While we’re eagerly anticipating next week’s theatrical release of “Nightmare Alley” in the US (and hopefully a press tour for the film that will include at least some virtual appearances by Toni), an international trailer for the United Kingdom has been released, giving us more glimpses of Toni’s Zeena Krumbein, a featurette with a focus on the film’s noir effect, as well as a couple of television spots have been released. All clips can be viewed below and in the video archive.

Better late than never, I’m happy to finally cover one of the COVID film casualties that is “Dream Horse”. After a well received premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, the film was postponed, canceled, re-scheduled and postponed again during the chaotic theatre restrictions during the first year of the pandemic. The film finally released theaters in a couple of countries and went straight on-demand in others. Over time, I have almost forgotten that the film even existed, so I was greatly surprised to find it on Blu-Ray a couple of days ago. Screencaptures from the film, an on-set interview and the b-roll have been added to the photo gallery. Make sure to grab your copy or find it on a streaming service, as it’s just the perfect film for a rainy Sunday (or any other day of the week).

Released Thursday by Searchlight Pictures, the trailer for del Toro’s first film since the Oscar-winning Shape of Water teases a neo-noir psychological thriller that features Cooper starring as down on his luck but charismatic “carny” Stanton Carlisle. While at a traveling carnival, Carlisle meets and endears himself to Toni Collette’s clairvoyant Zeena, as well as her mentalist husband Pete, played by David Strathairn. Eventually, with the aid of mysterious psychiatrist Dr. Lilith Ritter (Blanchett), the duo begin to plot a grift with some newly acquired knowledge, setting their target on dangerous and skeptical tycoon Ezra Grindle, played by Richard Jenkins. In the minute and a half trailer, Cooper’s Carlisle is seen admitting under the pressure of a lie-detector test that he is a medium and someone who can read minds “under the right circumstances.” But when asked if Carlisle is in contact with the beyond, Jenkins’ character responds as Cooper’s character is seen fake fainting in front of a crowd. “We’ve had our fair share of snake charmers in the past. We deal with them,” Grindle ominously promises. Fellow stars Collette, Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe and Clifton Collins Jr. also make appearances in the trailer that features a colorful collage of fire, money, violence, blood and deception. Based on William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name, with a screenplay co-written by Kim Morgan and del Toro, Cooper and J. Miles Dale serving as producers, Nightmare Alley opens in theaters on Dec. 17.

The stars are aligned for Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” his adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 noir novel that was quickly turned into a 1947 movie starring Tyrone Power. As GoldDerby writes, The Searchlight movie, out December 17 in theaters only, is among the top early contenders for Best Picture and Best Director according to the Gold Derby odds. “Is he man or beast?” Dafoe’s character, who oversees the fringe carnival where Cooper’s Stanton Carlise initially works, intones twice in the teaser – before and after images of tension, fright and oddity flash across the screen. But Stanton isn’t a werewolf, so much as anti-hero whose soul is corrupted by his decisions. “The carnival is almost like a microcosm of the world,” del Toro told Vanity Fair. “Everybody’s there to swindle everybody. But at the same time in the carnival, the [workers] know they need each other. In the city, much less so.”

Vanity Fair’s Awards Insider! has an in-depth look at Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming “Nightmare Alley”, including a short character profile of Toni Collette’s character and lots of pictures from the cast, including Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Willem Dafoe. Deception is at the core of Guillermo del Toro’s new thriller Nightmare Alley, but the Oscar-winning filmmaker actually wants to be completely honest with audiences: This movie is not what you might think it is. The ominous title, combined with the del Toro’s long history of bringing ghosts, ghouls, and twisted creatures to the screen in films from Cronos to The Shape of Water, may lead to the mistaken assumption that it’s another otherworldly tale. Nightmare Alley is actually his take on classic film noir, marking a stark shift for the filmmaker. But he knows the false impression might stick. “That is a distinct possibility,” del Toro tells Vanity Fair. “It has happened to me in the past with Crimson Peak, where people went in expecting a horror movie. I knew it was a gothic romance but it was very difficult to put that across. But yes, this has no supernatural element. It’s based completely in a reality world. There is nothing fantastic. It’s a very different movie from my usual, but yes, the title and my name would create that [impression].”

The tool Stanton uses to pry his way into a high-paying nightclub act is a subtle verbal code developed by tarot reader Zeena (Toni Collette) and her drunkard husband Pete (David Strathairn) that allows her to stand onstage and pretend to psychically intuit things audience members have written and given to him in the stands. The code—based on sounds and inflections made by the operative in the audience as he gathers the questions—is a valuable piece of intellectual property, and Stanton has no problem stealing it.

Nightmare Alley will open in theaters this December from Searchlight Pictures.

Even more production stills from Toni’s earlier films have been added to the photo gallery, featuring some wonderful unseen pictures from “Cosi”, “The Pallbearer”, “Hotel Splendide” and “About a Boy”. Enjoy.