If Patrick Bateman from “American Psycho” was a journalist living in Los Angeles, he may have been Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), a sociopathic news journalist who takes pleasure in filming the most brutal crime scenes even if it means breaking the law.

In his directorial debut, Dan Gilroy, who also wrote the film, tells the story of Lou Bloom, an aspiring crime journalist who wishes for nothing more than to have his work broadcasted on the news. The only issue is Lou lacks the funds, education and social skills to break into the business.

One night while driving home, Lou pulls over to watch police respond to a brutal car accident. There he meets Joe (Bill Paxton), a freelance photo journalist who participates in night crawling, an illegal form of photo journalism where they listen to police scanners and follow the cops to the scenes of brutal crimes including car accidents, fires and murders.

The rules of the night crawling game: the more graphic the incident, the more the station will pay. “If it bleeds, it leads,” Joe tells Lou when describing the profession.

After presenting his footage to Nina (Rene Russo), the morning news director for the station KWLA, Lou begins his career as a night crawler. He spends his nights fishing out crimes, and his mornings eagerly watching the six o’clock news to catch his footage.

Nina completely ignores the morality of the Lou’s journalism and she gets wrapped up in the high ratings that his graphic footage brings. When it comes to getting good footage, Lou has no limits.

Lou becomes so obsessed with having his footage on TV that he begins to manipulate crime, so he is the first person to the scene. He even breaks into a house after a violent shooting before the cops arrive, so he can film the victims as they bleed to death.

The most interesting part of “Nightcrawler” is the characterization of Lou. He is extremely non-empathetic towards the victims he films, and he doesn’t even flinch while filming the bloodiest of crimes.

As Lou, Gyllenhaal gives one of his best performances. With his greasy hair and sly smile, he has really graduated from the pretty boy image that was forced onto him in previous years. He portrays Lou’s narcissism with a creepy charisma that made me hang onto his words, which I’m assuming is the point since Lou is clearly some form of sociopath.

Lou does have poor social skills, at times, which is shown in the way he treats his assistant, Rick (Riz Ahmed), whom he only pays $30 a week to start. Though Lou is also skilled in the art of manipulation, especially when it comes to working his way up at KWLA. Many may ask how someone with no prior experience is able to accumulate such success at the news station in such a short period of time.

Lou’s manipulative skills come in full-force in a scene where he and Nina go out to dinner, and Lou threatens to stop sending her footage if she does not meet his demands. Russo does an excellent job at conveying the desperation and moral dilemma that Nina faces as she knows Lou’s willingness to capture up-close violence will boost her program’s ratings.

The film really makes viewers examine the obsession the media has with brutal crimes. When discussing what she wants from Lou, Nina tells him that the best stories are crimes committed in white suburban neighborhoods. The film was an excellent criticism of American media and how it instills fear in its citizens.

I will warn viewers that “Nightcrawler” is not for the faint of heart. “Think of our newscast as a screaming woman running down the street with her throat cut,” Nina tells Lou, which is an excellent way to describe the movie.

Brutality and blood aside, Gilroy’s directing style allows the film to stray away from being a cheesy thriller. All the scenes with Lou speeding down the LA streets trying to meet his next crime made me nostalgic for 2011s “Drive.”

The violent scenes are brutal and heart stopping but it never feels overdone in the sense that the director does not let these scenes control the film, but instead makes viewers understand Lou’s motive and how far he will go.

With Halloween season lacking original scares, “Nightcrawler” is a disturbing yet intriguing look at the crazy heights a journalist will climb for the most shocking story.