LURKER Review – Fantasia International Film Festival 2025

My favorite film from Fantasia, Alex Russell’s debut “Lurker” is a fascinating, well-acted study of fame and obsession.

Synopsis

A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

Review
A parasocial relationship becoming real or actualized has to be one of the deepest fears a celebrity can have. Alex Russell’s unnerving directorial debut “Lurker” explores this fear come true between its core characters, Matthew and Oliver. The film begins with rising pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) stepping into a trendy L.A. clothing shop where Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) works. When Matthew puts on a song that impresses the pop star, Matthew is soon invited to be part of Oliver’s inner circle. As he infiltrates and finds himself getting closer to Oliver, Matthew discovers that he is determined to stop at nothing to stay in this inner circle and hold onto his own rising fame. “What’s the difference between love and obsession?” – a tricky question Oliver sings into the camera as he films a music video where he is being shot by paintballs in real time (a perfectly disturbing sequence when one understands the context behind it). “Lurker” explores the answer to this deceptive question as well as the dangerous side of fame, fandom and climbing social ladders in general.

Choosing to target both the “celebrity” and the “fan”, “Lurker” boasts two complex characters in Matthew and Oliver, while also bringing forth two terrific performances from stars Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe. Matthew is not your typical stalker – at least Alex Russell’s layered script doesn’t aim to paint him as such right from the start – he is quiet, keeps to himself and ever-longingly “observes”. As he is brought into Oliver’s circle, meeting his douchey friends (Cam Hicks and Zack Fox), his wary agent/ “fixer” Shai (Havana Rose Liu) and his standoffish documentarian Noah (Daniel Zolghadri) – Matthew takes notes. He slowly but surely gains everyone’s trust as he gets closer to his main target, Oliver. Oliver’s depiction is similar to Matthew’s in that he’s not the usual egomaniac rising celebrity that we see in films dealing with fame and stardom. He has a little bit of a big head, will cut someone off at the drop of a dime that is boring him (“You have to make yourself useful if you wanna stick around”, Shai warns Matthew in one scene) but he hasn’t totally lost his groundedness. He wants to be better as an artist, wants to be more real in his art and, being there at the right place and time, Matthew understands that. The differences between these characters are also what makes them such a compelling pair for this slow-burn thriller – as Oliver is mostly winging his fame, trying his best to find realness in the art, Matthew is calculated, slowly encroaching himself in as an assistant-turned-videographer-turned-muse-turned-threat. Now, the acting – Pellerin is effectively creepy as Matthew, as he lures everyone in with his charm and calculates his attack on anyone that crosses him, Pellerin delivers it all with a star-making performance. Madekwe is equally powerful as Oliver, delivering a layered, vulnerable performance of a young man that is both addicted and chained by his fame, never quite knowing if his art lives up to or deserves the hype. As the film builds into its disturbing 3rd act, both actors give it their all, culminating in two unforgettable, complex performances.

Writer-director Alex Russell’s outstanding debut “Lurker” is the best film I’ve seen at Fantasia this year. Russell’s script has terrific commentary on fame and fandom and what happens when the dark side of fandom gets too close to the source of fame. The film’s loose but tight direction plays a key part in how Russell’s story effectively believes in showing rather than telling. A key twist in its 3rd act is cleverly revealed through tight editing, never letting the revelation be quick or out-of-left field but slowly built up to instead. “Lurker” is a fantastic, unnerving thriller that subverts itself as a painful portrait that explores the difference between love and obsession.

Closing Thoughts
This was no doubt my favorite film from Fantasia International Film Festival this year. The performances, the dark humor and the feeling of truly not where this was going makes this a near-perfect film in my book. From its enigmatic opening to its mic drop of an ending, Alex Russell paints an unforgettable picture of obsession and deception, one that may – if one can hope – possibly turn some heads during awards season.

Trailer