The pulsing new thriller Nightcrawler has reached a heady 90% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes as critics wade in ahead of the movie's release on Friday (October 31, 2014). Fitting nicely with the Halloween period, the movie is a slimy, dark brooding tale of a young man who discovers the high-speed world of L.A crime journalism.

Jake GyllenhaalJake Gyllenhaal plays the ghostly Lou Bloom in the dark, brooding 'Nightcrawler'

Jake Gyllenhaal plays our protagonist, Lou Bloom, a man desperate for work who begins a career in "nightcrawling" -that is, following police sirens to film bloody incident. We're talking murders, car crashes and fires. 

We had a feeling Gyllenhaal would come in for acclaim for Nightcrawler after stills from the shoot began leaking online, showing the actor drastically underweight. However, putting his physical transformation aside, the 33-year-old appears to have turned in his finest performance to date.

More: could Jake Gyllenhaal win an Oscar for 'Nightcrawler'?

"In real life, nobody could obstruct as much justice as Louis does and get away with it. Still, Nightcrawler is unnerving because we never know just how far Louis will go," said Stephanie Zacharek of Village Voice.

"This is a terrific performance by Gyllenhaal, completely inhabiting a spook of a man, a ghoul to remember," wrote David Sexton of This is London.

Watch the trailer for 'Nightcrawler':

"First and foremost, the film is a showcase for its wiry and wired star, and for the fascinatingly amoral anti-hero he brings to life," offered A.A. Dowd of AV Club.

"This smart thriller-drama has dark gravity and a sharp-toothed smile, with Jake Gyllenhaal giving one of 2014's best performances in an economic horror film that oozes through the L.A. night," said James Rocchi of About.com.

More: Jake Gyllenhaal talks "Nightcrawler" transformation

"You see some influence of other iconic characters - Norman Bates, Verbal Kint, Gordon Gekko - but Gyllenhaal's Lou Bloom becomes his own icon," said Brad Keefe of Columbus Alive.

Gyllenhaal remains an outsider to win Best Actor at the Oscars, though a nomination could be on the horizon.