Master of the macabre Guillermo del Toro resurrects the film noir in inarguable style with this atmospheric and stone-cold stunning adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel. First filmed in 1947 as a vehicle for Tyrone Power (the swashbuckler who relished a chance to take on the role of a slippery devil), this latest version ups the horror and melodrama and is made with a good deal more razzamatazz than its more subtly sinister, black and white predecessor.

Del Toro also significantly increases the star wattage, with Bradley Cooper stepping into Power's shoes as the lead protagonist and Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Rooney Mara playing the trio of women he joins forces with. Seen at the outset disposing of a corpse, Cooper's Stanton Carlisle is more than a little suspicious when he rocks up at a travelling carnival and is taken under the wing of Willem Dafoe's owner Clem. Once there, he falls in with Collette's clairvoyant Zeena and her alcoholic partner Pete (David Strathairn), before leaving to establish a 'spook show' act with fellow performer Molly (Mara) and later teaming up with shifty psychologist Dr Lilith Ritter (Blanchett) with whom he devises a scam.

Shot by regular del Toro collaborator Dan Laustsen (who worked on Mimic and Crimson Peak and was Oscar-nominated for his Shape Of Water lensing), the film packs an impressive visual punch, managing to be both smoky and sumptuous. It nods to the greats of the genre in its production and costume design, but feels substantially more lavish with spectacular imagery aplenty (the 'House Of Damnation' carnival attraction, a ghostly con gone wrong, Molly's electricity-harnessing act).

Cooper is a decent if slightly uninspired choice of lead. Boasting a spot-on balance of charm and deviousness, Power did it better but the female performers get more meat here, with Blanchett a force of feline cunning clearly poised to steal the show. Del Toro and his co-screenwriter (and now wife) Kim Morgan streamline and add impact to the ending, improving on the original film's structure. However, they don't deliver a great deal of emotional depth, meaning there's something of the highly polished hokum about this whole affair, while it sure is tough to dupe a modern audience seasoned in such twists and turns. But with so much for your eyes to feast on, you'll be loath to quibble.

Nightmare Alley is in cinemas from Friday 21 January.