Lurker (2025) is written & directed by Alex Russell. It stars Theodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Sunny Suljic, Havana Rose Liu, Cam Hicks, Zack Fox, Olawale Onayemi, Daniel Zolghadri, Sean Wang, and Myra Turley. The film follows Matthew (Pellerin), a quiet retail employee in his early 20s, who one day befriends his favorite up-and-coming musician, Oliver (Madekwe). Thrust into Oliver’s tight inner circle, Matthew finds himself intoxicated by his newfound proximity to fame. As their friendship slowly begins to fade, Matthew becomes desperate to remain on Oliver’s good side. The more he pushes, the more Oliver pulls away, but Matt isn’t easily dissuaded, convinced he’s the only person who can help his friend reach his full potential as an artist.

In what’s essentially a two-actor showcase, Pellerin and Madekwe are phenomenal as Matthew and Oliver. Pellerin, especially, gives a performance that is simultaneously chilling and deeply sympathetic. He displays all the social anxieties of trying to fit in with a new group of friends, but also something a bit more complex. He also hauntingly portrays the pain a person feels when they want to impress someone they admire, but don’t know how. 

The film often explores the power dynamic between artist and fan, illustrating how both sides exploit each other for personal gain. On the one hand, it explores how influential people often use their power to manipulate those with none of their own. On the other hand, it also explores how the powerless usually seize any opportunity to drag the powerful down to their level. This constant push and pull between Matthew and Ollie creates a dark view of friendships with imbalanced power dynamics. It presents them as hollow, transactional, and doomed from the start—like some kind of addictive drug. 

This exploration of the dark power dynamic between an artist and their fans is wonderfully subverted in the film’s final moments, implying that Matt’s unrelenting, often obsessive behavior mirrors precisely what it takes to be the best. Although devastating to his personal life, he eventually sees that his relationship with Matt is artistically fruitful. This mirrors how one’s obsession with their art can often come at the expense of their personal life. An artist needs to make this sacrifice to succeed. I’m not sure how true that actually is, but this is meant to be a dark exploration of the subject, which justifies such a dark (yet somewhat one-sided) take. 

Overall, I found this to be one of the more interesting films I’ve come across this year. It’s relevant, emotional, nostalgic, realistic, and horrifying. It features compelling characters who we watch slowly fall deeper into the abyss, desperately hoping they will see the error of their ways, but tragically, they never do. It’s not always a comfortable watch, but it’s original, well-written, beautifully photographed, and endlessly thought-provoking. I could’ve used a bit more intrigue throughout the third act, but that’s pretty much my only gripe, other than Ollie’s final character shift feeling a tad too swift. It’s the kind of rare horror film that chills its audience with ideas alone, resulting in scares that only become more disturbing when given time to ruminate in one’s mind. B+