‘Nightcrawler’ is an effectively creepy thriller, reviews say

“Nightcrawler” may not feature any vengeful ghosts, bloodthirsty demons or chainsaw-wielding psychos, but that doesn’t mean writer-director Dan Gilroy’s take on the cutthroat business of local TV news isn’t suitably creepy for a Halloween release.

According to movie critics, the nocturnal drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a freelance videographer with a missing conscience makes for a stylish, well-acted chiller.

The Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan writes: “‘Nightcrawler’ is pulp with a purpose. A smart, engaged film powered by an altogether remarkable performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, it is melodrama grounded in a disturbing reality, an extreme scenario that is troubling because it cuts close to the bone.”

The supporting players are strong too, Turan says: Rene Russo delivers “one of her best roles,” Riz Ahmed is “splendid,” and Bill Paxton is “expert.” On the other side of the camera, “Gilroy’s lean, straight-ahead direction pulls us along,” aided by brother John Gilroy’s editing and “cool, seductive cinematography” by Robert Elswit.

The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips writes: “So many character studies pretend to take chances but end up making easy decisions for the sake of audience comfort. ‘Nightcrawler’ stays pretty tough throughout.”

Phillips adds: “Despite the familiarity of its themes -- the bottom-feeding news media; the pathology born of extreme isolation and a little too much online time; the American can-do spirit, perverted into something poisonous -- Gilroy’s clever, skeezy little noir is worth a prowl.”

Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Nashawaty says Gyllenhaal “has delivered what could be his best -- and creepiest -- performance to date,” and Russo “is dynamite in the film, though at times her overheated performance is a little too reminiscent of Faye Dunaway’s amoral news viper Diana Christensen in ‘Network.’” In the end, Gilroy offers up “a 21st-century takedown of the media’s pandering ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ ethos and the ghoulish nightcrawlers who live by it.”

The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday calls “Nightcrawler” an “impressive directorial debut from screenwriter Dan Gilroy that, true to its title, creeps under the viewer’s skin much like the predatory title character.”

Hornaday adds that “there are moments when ‘Nightcrawler’ becomes too strident for its own good, and the plot ultimately goes into its own sensationalistic, far-fetched territory that compromises Gilroy’s impressive tonal and visual control.” But Gyllenhaal is nonetheless “queasily mesmerizing,” and Russo proves that “she’s still a stunning, steady presence on screen.”

And the New York Times’ A.O. Scott says: “‘Nightcrawler’ never attains anywhere near the gravity or the impact of ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The King of Comedy.’ Its message -- that the news media feeds a morbid fascination with atrocity -- is hardly implausible, but the target is more than a little shopworn, and the stance of queasy outrage feels secondhand, not to say a bit hypocritical.”

On the other hand, Scott says, it’s “a modest and effectively executed urban thriller, suspenseful and entertaining in its clammy, overwrought way. Mr. Gyllenhaal’s performance, while not remotely persuasive, is disciplined and meticulous in its creepiness, and Mr. Gilroy keeps the audience off balance, fascinated and repelled.”

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