Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler has Jake Gyllenhaal as the aspiring crime journalist Lou Bloom. His ambition leads him to a nocturnal lifestyle in which he hunts down breaking stories in his car, films them with his camera, and sells the footage to local news channels. But as Bloom's ambition overcomes his ethics, the thriller becomes more about the journalist and the lengths he'll go to chase down success.

As the thriller takes on the shape of the crimes Bloom runs after in the night, he becomes the star of his own stories. This innovative take on the crime thriller genre takes us back some of the best films centered around local violence. Here are seven of them currently available to stream.

Side Effects
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Watch on Netflix

A woman (Rooney Mara) is prescribed anti-depressants and wakes up to find her white-collar-criminal husband (Channing Tatum) has been murdered. Her psychiatrist (Jude Law) works to guide her through both her depression and the traumatic death of her husband. Things get complicated, however, when her previous psychiatrist (Catherine Zeta-Jones) becomes involved in her treatment. 

The Frozen Ground
Directed by Scott Walker
Watch on Netflix

Nicolas Cage plays the investigating detective in this true-crime thriller about the Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen (John Cusack) who uses the deserted Alaskan bush as a dumping ground for the young women he murders. The investigation takes off when a 17- year-old prostitute escapes and provides her testimony to the police, but her word doesn't stand against Hansen, a family man and revered member of the community in Anchorage, Alaska.

Blue Ruin
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Watch on Netflix

After being informed that his parents' murderer has been released from prison, Dwight goes on a mission to enact his revenge. Like most crime-thrillers, Blue Ruin's twists and turns keep you guessing. Check out some of the times we've looked into these pivotal plot points and their narrative usefulness.

Amores Perros
Directed by Alexander Gonzalez Iñarrítu
Watch on Netflix

Well before last week's release of the much-anticipated Birdman, Iñarrítu made Amores Perros, about a pair of brothers who find themselves embroiled in a dog-fighting crime ring. In his usual style, Iñarrítu traces the resonances of a single traumatic event across a series of otherwise disparate stories. So the dogfighters' story is intercut with one of a supermodel and her new husband and a fugitive guerilla activist.

Zodiac
Directed by David Fincher
Watch on Netflix

If you'll be watching Nightcrawler as a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of a journalist, Zodiac is probably the movie to stream for you. One of Fincher's early crime thrillers, Zodiac tells the story of the yet-unsolved case of the Zodiac killer and his collaboration with local news outlets to send out encoded messages detailing his crimes. 

Dirty Pretty Things
Directed by Stephen Frears
Watch on Netflix

Starring Audrey Tatou as Senay and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Okwe, Dirty Pretty Things centers in a hotel that serves as a black-market trading grounds for organs and faked immigration paperwork. As soon as immigration officials catch wind of this operation, Senay and Okwe are sent running to escape persecution.

Out of the Furnace
Directed by Scott Cooper
Watch on Netflix

Taking place in rural Pennsylvania, Out of the Furnace stars Christian Bale as Russell Baze, who kills a family when driving drunk. The movie follows Baze upon his release and his attempt to get re-integrate after serving his time. This task, of course, is made difficult when he learns his girlfriend (Zoe Saldana) has moved on and his father has passed away.