Movie Review: Lurker

If psychological thrillers are to be believed, we should never get to know anyone, as every person we encounter runs the risk of being dangerously unstable. Thankfully, most of us ignore this particular bit of cinematic advice and continue to introduce ourselves to strangers, thus preventing a massive loneliness epidemic. But the threat of a malicious interloper sneaking their way into our lives and wreaking havoc has been a popular topic for stories across all mediums for as long as we’ve been telling tales, only subtly being reworked over the years to fit the norms of each new era. Writer / director Alex Russell’s feature film debut takes on the task of adapting it for Gen Z and does so in a way that allows him to deliver a sharp commentary on some of their worst tendencies while also retaining the core idea’s universal appeal.

Awkward twenty-something Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) is working at a trendy LA clothing store with his friend Jamie (Sunny Suljic) when rising pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) enters the shop. Matthew changes the music to Nile Rodgers’ classic “My Love Song for You”, immediately garnering praise from Oliver and earning him an invite backstage to his next gig.

From there, Matthew begins to insinuate himself into Oliver’s life, garnering some skepticism from the singer’s crew but ultimately earning their begrudging acceptance. When Jamie also gains admittance to the inner circle, Matthew’s simmering jealousies begin to emerge and his infatuation with the charismatic but myopic celebrity he now orbits causes him to begin to behave erratically.

Very few major plot developments take place for long stretches of Lurker, but thanks to the fantastic music by Kenny Beats featuring radio-ready songs sung by Madekwe, the frenetic, lo-fi cinematography of Pat Scola, and the absorbing performances of the young cast the movie retains our interest throughout as it methodically moves all of its pieces into place.

Gen Z are hardly the first people in the world to sometimes harbor an unhealthy obsession with celebrity, but thanks to social media and its promise of making fame attainable to anyone, they may have taken it to new levels. Matthew seems to be willing to turn himself into whatever Oliver wants him to be just to be near him, often with little or no clear benefit for himself outside of some minor peripheral notoriety. There are hints that he may have a romantic interest in his new “friend”, but that is never made entirely clear and doesn’t seem to be what is driving his decisions regardless.

For his part, Oliver only seems to be interested in other people in as much as they prove useful or entertaining, discarding those who are neither, and sending mixed signals to everyone competing for his attentions. He does want to create genuinely interesting art however, and is willing to make questionable decisions to achieve the results he is after. Putting the pair together leads to an unsurprisingly volatile situation and a biting critique of artistic ambition the 2020s.

Whether Lurker will ever join other classics of the genre remains to be seen, but Russell feels like a filmmaker with his finger firmly on the pulse of young America who is able to achieve a lot with relatively little. By mixing our broader fears with those specific to his target demographic he has crafted a spellbinding, tense, and thought-provoking film that functions as both a loving homage to and a savage indictment of our current era and the people who are coming of age in it. ★★★★