Nightmare Fuel / Nightmare Alley (2021)

• The scene in which Clem explains the process of getting a geek. The way he explains it is no different than showing how to make a successful sales pitch, making you wonder just how many times he's done this.
  Stan: How do you ever get a guy to geek?
  Clem: Oh, I ain't gonna crap you up. It ain't easy. You gotta pick up a broken drunk. A real alkie, a two bottle-a-day fool, see?
  Stan: Pick 'em up from where?
  Clem: Nightmare alleys, train tracks, flophouses, you name it. Lotta folks came back from the war addicted to the poppy, to booze. Now, opinum really sinks its claws, but you reel 'em in with booze. You tell 'em, "I got a little job for you. It's a temporary job." Make sure you emphasize that. "Just temporary until we get ourselves another geek." (hands Stan a vial) You spike it with that opium tincture. One drop per bottle, that's all. (takes the vial back) But oh, oh now, this is what he thinks is heaven. So, you say to him like this, you say to him "Well, I gotta get me a real geek." He says "Ain't I doing okay?" You say "Like crap you doing okay. You can't draw a real crowd faking a geek. You're through." And you walk off. Now that night, you drag out the lecture, you lay it on thick. All the while you're talking, he's thinking about sobering up, getting the crawling shakes, the screaming, the terrors. You give him time to think that over while you're talkin'. Then...you throw him the chicken. He'll geek.
  Stan: Jesus. Poor soul.
  • To make matters worse, as monstrous as this makes Clem, it turns out in the end to not be a tactic that's exclusive to him but may in fact be a common fixture of carnival operations.
• The Kimballs' murder-suicide, especially when the wife repeats their son's name before putting the gun to her own head.
• The final scene. Stan arrives at another carnival and offers his mentalism act to the owner. He's initially put off by his unkempt appearance, saying he smells like piss, but then offers him a drink, one carny to another. He mentions that he has one job that Stan can take, give him a place to stay, food. But it's temporary. Just until he finds another geek. Stan realizes this is his fate, and tells the owner "I was born for it." while sobbing pitifully, and then he snaps and breaks down laughing.
  • Pay attention to the carny. He takes out a bottle and pours a drink for himself and Stan, but he doesn't drink it. Clem mentioned that you spike booze with laudanum in order to get the bums addicted enough to fall into the trap. The carny hasn't even started talking about the job, and he's already starting to addict him.