Nightcrawler - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Nightcrawler



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I like to say, “If you’re seeing me, you’re having the worst day of your life”.

My original review for the Blu-ray of Nightcrawler started with the quote “If I had my way, I’d write a few words, then tell you to just go watch it”, and I think that recommendation still stands. 2014’s Nightcrawler is better experienced than read about, and it was one of the few films that year that actually disappointed me over the lack of Oscar wins. Back then, Jake Gyllenhaal was less a serious actor and more the pretty boy with some action/fantasy titles under his belt. But after Nightcrawler came out, things changed. He started getting the recognition for being a serious actor that he deserved, with countless hit roles, and is now considered one of the best actors of this day.

Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an emotionally disturbed, but highly driven, young man looking for work. The beginning of the film has him searching for one chance after another to get a job, but no one really wants to hire a former thief. Spouting off jingoistic self-help drivel to motivate himself and see if he can get a foot in the door somewhere, he accidentally stumbles upon a sleazy paparazzi-style photographer (Bill Paxton) scoping out an accident. Upon further investigation, he’s introduced to the paparazzi, who opens Louis’s eyes up to the possibility of freelance photography wherein he would sell his grisly photos to the overnight news teams, splashing dead bodies, car accidents, and other “if it bleeds, it leads” type images.

Grabbing a cheap camera and watching the various photographers for a while, Louis sets out to become a Nightcrawler (the term dubbed for these nighttime prowling photographers). Realizing that he can’t do this alone, he hires another desperate young man looking for work named Rick (Riz Ahmed). Now the two of them can film from different angles, maximizing their chance of success in finding a grisly enough photo for the news agencies. Louis works as a brutal task master, pushing Rick and himself further and further until the duo starts to manipulate the system. After following and stumbling into a home invasion gone wrong, Louis gets into the good graces of station manager Nina (Rene Russo), only to blackmail her for better and better slots, and of course pulling one illegal stunt after another to get his scoop. But sooner or later, the police are GOING to figure out that he’s gaming the system, and who knows what those consequences will be?

Nightcrawler is one of the few movies that I feel physically drained after watching. I’m exhausted, nearly panting, and left with my heart pounding from both disgust at Louis and the sheer intensity of it all. Louis Bloom is one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of a protagonist, not a hero, in a movie. He’s both weirdly intoxicating and simultaneously repulsive at the same time. Jake does an absolutely fantastic job of crafting a character who will stop at nothing, yet still acts and seems friendly enough that you can’t see the knife being slid between your ribs until it's too close. A textbook case sociopath, Louis doesn’t swirl his mustache like a 1930s super villain, but uses his veneer as a hard-working businessman to mask the utter lack of empathy and humanity he has under the surface.

The film is half satire about the news, and it’s “If it bleeds, it leads” mantra, and half satire on us as viewers. All mixed up in a grand thriller. Leaving the audience enthralled and enraptured, the flick carefully pokes fun at the media and their hold upon the populace with salacious stories. And of course, poking just as many fingers at us, the audience, as we lap it all up like it’s breakfast cereal. I know I’ve done it, most of you have done it, and we all hate ourselves for doing so. Nightcrawler carefully peels back that bandaid, shaking its finger ever so delicately at the viewer, and turning around and pointing that wagging finger straight at the news stations as well. It’s one of my favorite films of the last decade, and it still holds up some 11 years later.




Rating:

Rated R for violence, including graphic images, and for language




4K Video: Video:

And this….this is one of the few times that I give a perfect 5/5 score for video. I remember from back in the day that I gave the Universal Blu-ray a hefty 4.5/5 rating for video quality, but Shout! Studio’s 4K UHD handily outclasses that disc, and even their new remastered Blu-ray included in the combo pack. Nightcrawler is shot in the dead of night, with a faithful replication of the gritty and seedy texture that Gilroy was going for. Grading can range from right blues to a sort of faded and yellowed green tinge that adds a sickly hue to everything. Facial details can be a bit pale at times, but otherwise show good contrast and skin tones. Black levels are deep and inky, never failing to satisfy with the shadow details given. Fine details in general are startling, allowing us to see the black shadows under Louis’s sunken, sleep-deprived eyes. And you can see every scratch and ding on his original car as it sputters down the streets looking for shots to pick up. All in all, this is as close to a perfect-looking image as I could possibly find.









Audio:

Shout! Studios appear to have included the original 5.1 DTS-HD MA track (that I gave a 4.5/5 rating back in early 2015), as well as a 2.0 downmix AAAAAND a brand new Atmos track. And while I do appreciate the inclusion of an Atmos track, it feels like a fine-tuning of the original 5.1 mix rather than a revelation between the two mixes. There’s a nice sense of subtlety to the mix, with ambiance taking over the vast majority of the heavy lifting here. Little noises in the night keep the surrounds and main active at all times, with creaks, groans, sirens off in the distance causing near constant activity, even in the softer and more nuanced ranges. There is this sense of raw energy that flows throughout the entire mix, engaging all 6 speakers and crafting a 360-degree field of immersion. Overheads are soft and less discrete than expected, but still make ample use of all those city sounds as well as the scoring. Bass is soft, but when needed, comes out to play with a vengeance (such as the car crash at the end).












Extras:

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historian Joe von Appen
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Dan Gilroy, Producer Tony Gilroy, and Editor John Gilroy
• NEW Making the News: Scoring Nightcrawler
• If It Bleeds, It Leads: Making Nightcrawler
• Trailer

Final Score: ​

Nightcrawler was, and is, one of my favorite movies of the last decade. It’s absolutely riveting, with a stellar cast and a chilling message that leaves you sort of sick to your stomach by the time the credits roll. And sadly, is still relevant today in the world we live in. Shout! Studios 4K steelbook is classy as getout, with a fantastic new cover art, some new extras, and a nice new Atmos track as well. I did back in 2015, and I highly recommend this one.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton
Directed By: Dan Gilroy
Written By: Dan Gilroy
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Universal Pictures
Rated: R
Runtime: 117 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 17th, 2026

Recommendation: Great Watch!