There's a history of leading men abandoning their good looks for the sake of a movie—Christian Bale, Robert de Niro, Matthew McConaughey—but Jake Gyllenhaal's transformation for Nightcrawler may be the the most shocking, and creepiest, one yet. He's gaunt, which makes his once-alluring eyes look way too intense.
The subject matter of the pulse-pounding thriller also helps—Gyllenhaal's Lou Bloom is a desperate man looking to break through in the world of Los Angeles crime journalism who toes the line between reporting and creating sensational, pulpy stories about murder and the like. It also helps that Gyllenhaal is just as dedicated to his performance in Nightcrawler as he is looking the part.
And finally, the reviews—Variety called the movie "a feast of capital-A acting"—help you realize that it was all worth it. Check out an exclusive clip of Nightcrawler above. The movie hits theaters, appropriately, on Halloween, Oct. 31.
