"Nightcrawler" worms up rave reviews from critics

Critics aren't being spooked away from Jake Gyllenhaal's new thriller, "Nightcrawler."

The "Prisoners" star lost nearly 30 pounds for his portrayal of sociopathic loner Lou Bloom, who scours the streets of Los Angeles shooting crime scenes and selling the footage to a local TV station. The film takes a satirical look at today's state of the media, in a similar vein to the way Paddy Chayefsky explored the subject in 1976's "Network."

"Nightcrawler" was written and directed by "The Bourne Legacy" screenwriter Dan Gilroy, making his directorial debut. Gilroy's wife, actress Rene Russo, co-stars as a news director who serves as an older love interest for Bloom.

Russo, Gyllenhaal and Gilroy are all earning some of the best reviews of their careers for "Nightcrawler." Most critics say the film makes for a good time at the movies, even with all its slithery elements:

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "Despite the melodrama that increases as 'Nightcrawler' moves to a conclusion, there is no denying that something real is in the wind here, something about us as a society, how we talk and what we value. No matter what we think of Lou and his exploits, it is hard to deny that the world he thrives in is the one we have made."

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: "'Nightcrawler' curves and hisses its way into your head with demonic skill. When the laughs come, they stick in your throat. This is a deliciously twisted piece of work. And Gyllenhaal, coiled and ready to spring, is scarily brilliant. He truly is a monster for our time."

Claudia Puig, USA Today: "Thirty pounds lighter, all cheekbones and bulging eyes, Gyllenhaal plays one of the year's most memorable characters in this dark, provocative drama."

A.O. Scott, The New York Times: "'Nightcrawler' is 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, half rooting for Lou to succeed, and half dreading what he will do next."

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "Russo bites off some of the same scenery Faye Dunaway chewed in 'Network,' and she spits it out with gusto."

Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter: "Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job channeling Louis' outrageous and overwrought personality, whether he's offering up lame sermons on entrepreneurship or tying his greasy long hair into a knot."

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "There are moments that are too macabre and outlandish, but Gilroy steers the movie just this side of farce, just this side of Chayefsky, and keeps it all within a realistic framework. At times watching, you might wonder how he'll keep the story going, how he'll top himself. But he does."

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "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."

Scott Foundas, Variety: "Gyllenhaal is undeniably committed to the role, but the character itself never feels like more than a collection of half-baked notions about underemployed young men with too much Web-surfing time on their hands."

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker: "The movie is quite something, and, despite its title, it doesn't really crawl. It scuttles ahead, wide-eyed, antennae waving, on a journey to the end of the night, and toward a future when nothing will not be shown. Don't look now, it tells us. So we do."

"Nightcrawler" is now playing in theaters.