Nightcrawler (15)

NIGHTCRAWLER explores the sick, obsessive and parasitic nature behind filming crashes, shootings, deadly fires and crime sprees all in the name of TV news.

In Dan Gilroy's excellent film, these cameramen-for-hire are portrayed as relentless in their pursuit of the most extreme and gratuitous footage without a thought for the victims.

Jake Gyllenhaal takes the audience on this joy ride through the neon-saturated streets of LA as Lou Bloom, a strange loner desperate for work.

He is excellent in the lead role as a petty criminal who muscles in on the freelance crime footage scene, simply equipped with a handheld camera, a police scanner and a phone with GPS.

Bloom is perhaps one of Gyllenhaal's best characters yet and creepy does not begin to cover it.

As shrewd and calculating as he is ghoulish, he speaks in oddly fitting sound bites that might belong to an entrepreneur, a careers advisor or a self help guru.

But as his skills in obtaining the 'best' footage increase his morals slip even further.

As he prowls the streets, Bloom begins to have no qualms manipulating crime scenes, taking out competitors, withholding evidence from police or sparking violent crimes himself, leading to a stunning finale.

But the film is also clever because it turns the mirror to the audience. Who is really to blame for this voyeuristic culture of violence and fear?

At first you might point the finger at the news networks, desperate to keep the ratings up, but the film might even make you question your own motives as a viewer.