Lurker (film)

Lurker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlex Russell
Written byAlex Russell
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPat Scola
Edited byDavid Kashevaroff
Music byKenneth Blume
Production
companies
  • High Frequency Entertainment
  • MeMo Films
  • Twin Pictures
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 26, 2025 (2025-01-26) (Sundance)
  • August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$633,965[2][3]

Lurker is a 2025 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Alex Russell. The film stars Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Zack Fox, Havana Rose Liu, Wale Onayemi, Daniel Zolghadri and Sunny Suljic.

Lurker premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, and was released in the United States by Mubi on August 22, 2025.[4]

Lurker received critical acclaim. It was featured on Variety's list of the top ten best films of 2025, with lead critic Owen Gleiberman saying, "Lurker has been made with the craft of early vintage Polanski crossed with an up-to-the-minute awareness of what pop culture has come to mean when the famous and their fans are now chasing each other’s tails."[5]

Plot

Retail worker Matthew Morning is employed at a popular Los Angeles clothing store frequented by rising pop musician Oliver, whom Matthew impresses one afternoon by playing an under-appreciated song he loves on the store’s speakers. Oliver gives Matthew a backstage pass to an upcoming concert and quickly befriends him thereafter, inviting him to join his entourage as his documentarian. Matthew is initially met with skepticism and resistance by Oliver’s friends but is eventually accepted as he begins contributing numerous visual elements to Oliver’s upcoming album cycle, ultimately quitting his job at the store.

Matthew himself soon becomes a well-known social media figure for his association with Oliver and is approached by his former co-worker Jamie, who is also a fan of Oliver’s and wants to meet him. Matthew reluctantly agrees and Jamie quickly becomes an additional member of the entourage as the group’s stylist, drawing the ire of Matthew. Oliver takes his entourage, including Matthew and Jamie, to London to accompany him at a concert. During the trip, an increasingly jealous Matthew makes several attempts to sabotage Jamie, culminating in him injuring Jamie by knocking him off of a ladder during a photoshoot. He is promptly shunned by Oliver and his friends afterwards.

After Matthew’s attempts to make amends with Oliver prove futile, he encounters two underage fans of Oliver, whom he equips with backstage passes and discreetly records an encounter between them and Oliver, who is under the impression that they are adults. Matthew subsequently blackmails Oliver with the footage and forces Oliver to allow him back into the entourage until he finishes a documentary about Oliver.

Matthew accompanies Oliver and his friends on tour, despite their visible discomfort, during which Oliver makes several failed attempts to retrieve the hard drive on which Matthew is keeping the footage of the encounter. Oliver attempts to convince Matthew that he truly sees him as a friend and deleting the footage is necessary to eliminate any tension between them. Matthew argues that the pressure is pushing him to be a better artist, which he knows Oliver deeply wants, and that Matthew is his first true friend because he isn’t simply a yes man.

Eventually, Oliver’s friends stop their tour bus in a desolate area and begin beating Matthew, allowing Oliver to access the hard drive. However, as he’s searching through it, he is able to see edited footage of the documentary Matthew has been filming during the tour, and appears to reconsider. Sometime later, Matthew’s documentary premieres at a film festival to an enthusiastic crowd, who applaud both him and Oliver together onstage. After Oliver answers questions, a young photographer in the audience tells Matthew he admires him and wants to be just like him, asking, "What do I have to do?" The film ends before he can answer.

Cast

Production

In December 2020, the script was featured on the Black List.[6] In March 2024, it was announced that Pellerin, Madekwe and several other actors were cast in the film.[7] The film's score was developed by Kenny Beats.[8]

Release

The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025,[4] and was screened in February in Europe at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in the section Berlinale Special Gala, where it will also be in competition for the Teddy Award.[9]

In February 2025, Mubi acquired distribution rights to the film.[10] Later that month, Focus Features acquired international distribution rights.[11]

It was theatrically released in the United States on August 22, 2025.[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 112 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "Devilishly examining the intersection of fame and obsession to thrilling effect, Alex Russell's directorial debut delivers on all fronts."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[14]

At the 41st Independent Spirit Awards, the film received nominations for Best Lead Performance (Théodore Pellerin), Best Supporting Performance (Archie Madekwe), Best First Screenplay (Alex Russell), and Best First Feature, winning the latter two.[15]

References

  1. ^ "LURKER". British Columbia Film Classification Office. August 6, 2025. Archived from the original on October 12, 2025. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  2. ^ "Lurker". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "Lurker – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Galuppo, Mia (December 11, 2024). "2025 Sundance Lineup: Latest Projects From Justin Lin, Questlove and Barry Levinson". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  5. ^ https://variety.com/lists/best-movies-of-2025/
  6. ^ Ramos, Anthony D'Alessandro,Dino-Ray (December 14, 2020). "The Black List 2020 Unveiled: Sophie Dawson's 'Headhunter' Tops List". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan (March 25, 2024). "'The Bear' and 'Beef' Writer Alex Russell Sets Directorial Debut 'Lurker,' Starring Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 25, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Rossignol, Derrick (August 14, 2025). "Kenny Beats And Rex Orange County Back 'Lurker' Star Archie Madekwe On 'Love And Obsession'". UPROXX. Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  9. ^ "Berlinale Programme". Berlinale. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Donnelly, Matt; Keslassy, Elsa (February 6, 2025). "Sundance Favorite 'Lurker' Sells to 'The Substance' Distributor Mubi (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  11. ^ Ritman, Alex (February 19, 2025). "Alex Russell's Sundance Hit 'Lurker' Acquired by Focus for International (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  12. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 9, 2025). "Mubi Unveils North American Release Date For Sundance Thriller 'Lurker'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Lurker". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  14. ^ "Lurker". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  15. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (December 3, 2025). "Spirit Award Nominees include 'Sorry, Baby', 'Peter Hujar's Day', 'Train Dreams', 'Twinless', and 'The Plague'". IndieWire. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lurker_(film)