Nightcrawler (15), directed by Dan Gilroy

4/5

Set against the backdrop of the cut-throat world of US television news, this deliciously creepy thriller shines a heightened light on the inordinate pressures of breaking a story first and beating the ratings.

The ongoing hacking scandal shows  how some journalists have no qualms in crossing the line in order to get the scoop and stay ahead of the game in a world now dominated by an insatiable beast, the 24-hour news cycle.

Thus Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler isn’t that far-fetched. Its producer Jake Gyllenhaal also stars as the  enterprising drifter Lou Bloom, who decides to cash in by becoming one of the nocturnal TV crews who chase crashes, fires and violent crime in LA in order to sell the exclusive footage to local television networks.

Bloom hires intern/wingman Rick (Riz Ahmed) and together they monitor the police scanner and try to beat everyone else to the story.

Yet as Bloom rapidly ascends the realm of TV news he becomes ever more extreme and starts manipulating crime scenes to get the perfect shot, ending in him becoming the story itself.

It’s an immoral and depraved trajectory but he is aided by Nina (Rene Russo), the head of news at a local TV station and a former anchor, who is happy to cross journalistic lines in order to secure the ratings — and her job.

The experience is like watching a car crash — you just can’t look away as Gyllenhaal delivers a career-best performance alongside Russo, who makes a frighteningly believable  hard-bitten news veteran.

Thought-provoking, totally gripping and macabre, it’s a  thriller which may make you look more questioningly at how TV news is produced.

Maria Duarte

Horns (15), directed by Alexandre Aja

3/5

Daniel Radcliffe shows his devilish side in this bizarre supernatural horror about love, redemption, loss of faith and coming to terms with one’s inner demons.

An adaptation of Joe Hill’s cult novel Horns, it stars Radcliffe as Ig, a normal guy who is blamed for the murder of his long-term girlfriend Merrin (Juno Temple).

After being demonised by everyone in his home town he awakens to discover he has grown a pair of horns which makes people confess their darkest and most depraved secrets.

This provides some of the film’s funniest and darkest moments as Ig uses their power to uncover Merrin’s true killer.

Yet the film’s uneven tone and ambivalence in deciding if it is a horror, a thriller or an exploration of faith, with its religious undertones and biblical imagery, poses a problem. And for some reason Temple is gratuitously naked.

Radcliffe makes an engaging horny demon although, as he embraces his inner snake-whisperer, I couldn’t help wondering if he’ll ever be able to put the boy wizard finally behind him.

Maria Duarte

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman (15), directed by Frederik Bond

2/5

Love conquers all in this truly odd romantic drama set in Romania and starring Shia LaBeouf as a troubled young man trying to find himself after losing his mother.  

When he falls for Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood), a musician, he also falls foul of her violent ex husband Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen).

You know there is a serious problem when you are rooting for the charismatic villain Nigel to end up with the girl instead of the hero.

A film that’s as troubled as its leading man.

Maria Duarte

The Overnighters, directed by Jesse Morris

4/5

Set in the oil fields of North Dakota, this drama-doc concerns the plight of a pastor who turns his church into an overnight stop for those in need of a place to shelter while seeking work.

Obviously, with some on the sex offenders’ register, there’s a hue and cry orchestrated by the local press, forcing the community to forget cherished ideas of Christian charity.

On top of the happy-clappy crowd, who provide a shocking indictment of the US’s inability for compassion if you’re not an identikit person, we’re drawn into a narrative which powerfully shows how the pastor is  facing his very own devils.

Jeff Sawtell