Nightmare Alley does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative focuses on heterosexual relationships and the moral descent of its protagonist within the carnival and high society settings, without engaging with queer identity or experiences.

Nightmare Alley does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The film's narrative centers on a carnival mentalist's ambition, deception, and eventual downfall, without engaging with transgender experiences or identities.

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

The 2021 film adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham's novel maintains the established genders of all its major characters. There are no instances where a character canonically male or female in the source material is portrayed as a different gender in the film.

The 2021 film "Nightmare Alley" is an adaptation of a 1946 novel and a 1947 film. All major characters in the 2021 adaptation are portrayed by actors whose race aligns with the established race of those characters in the original source material, with no instances of a character being portrayed as a different race.