He Wanted In, No Matter the Cost

Read Time:5 Minute, 53 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Lurker
–

Genre: Drama, Thriller
Year Released: 2025, 2026 Blu-ray
Runtime: 1h 40m
Director(s): Alex Russell
Writer(s): Alex Russell
Cast: Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Sunny Suljic, Havana Rose Liu
Where to Watch: available now, order your copy here: www.moviesunlimited.com or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: There’s some deep discomfort that comes from watching someone try too hard to belong, and LURKER understands and explores that with an almost surgical precision. It doesn’t rely on twists or shocking reveals to get under your skin. Instead, it builds tension through awkward silences, calculated interactions, and the realization that the person at the center of it all is always one step ahead, even when he pretends not to be.

The film follows Matthew, a retail worker who finds a way into Oliver's world, a rising music artist on the edge of something, a bigger world. That entry is almost harmless on the surface, but the way it evolves says everything about what this film is actually interested in. This isn’t about fandom in the traditional sense. Matthew isn’t obsessed with Oliver’s music or his artistry. What he’s chasing is proximity, the illusion of importance that comes from standing next to someone who matters. That distinction is what gives the film an edge.

Théodore Pellerin carries that idea on his shoulders in a performance that constantly shifts between vulnerability and calculation. There’s a softness to Matthew that makes him easy to underestimate, but the film never lets you settle into that. Every interaction feels slightly off, like he’s rehearsing a version of himself that will get him further into the room. Pellerin plays that with restraint, letting small gestures do the work, and it’s that restraint that makes the character so unsettling. You’re never sure where the performance ends, and the intention begins.

Across from him, Archie Madekwe brings an instability to Oliver. He isn’t presented as some untouchable figure. If anything, he feels incomplete, still figuring out who he is as both an artist and a person. That uncertainty becomes part of the power dynamic. Oliver doesn’t control the room in the way you might expect. His influence comes from the fact that everyone around him wants something, and he gets to decide who receives it. Madekwe leans into that ambiguity, balancing charm with detachment to keep the character unpredictable.

The relationship between these two characters is really the film's strength. It’s not built on trust or even connection. It’s transactional from the start, even if neither of them fully acknowledges it. Matthew offers usefulness, insight, and eventually something closer to control, while Oliver offers access, validation, and the possibility of being seen. The film doesn’t rush that dynamic. It lets it develop in small, uncomfortable increments, each step feeling like a natural extension of the last, even as it pushes further into dangerous territory.

What makes LURKER stand out in this kind of story is how it treats fame as porous. There’s no line between being inside or outside of it all. That boundary shifts constantly, depending on who’s useful in the moment and who isn’t. The film captures that instability well, especially within the group surrounding Oliver. Everyone is competing for attention, even when they pretend not to be, and that competition creates an environment where loyalty doesn’t really exist. It’s all conditional, and Matthew learns that faster than anyone.

Alex Russell’s direction leans into atmosphere rather than trying to over-explain it. There’s a looseness to how scenes play out, especially in group settings, where conversations overlap and energy shifts without warning. It gives the film a quality that works in its favor, making the world feel real even as its behavior becomes increasingly extreme. The use of music and performance spaces adds to that, grounding the story in a version of the industry that feels recognizable without turning into a caricature.

There’s an argument to be made that the film circles its central idea a few too many times without really delving into its depths. The exploration of validation, power, and identity is compelling, but it doesn’t always evolve as much as it could. Instead of pushing those themes into new territory, the film occasionally reiterates what it has already established. It keeps the story focused, but it also limits how far it ultimately reaches.

What LURKER does well is hard to ignore. It captures a very specific kind of anxiety, the need to be seen, to be close to something bigger, and the lengths people will go to maintain that illusion. It understands how easily relationships can become transactional in spaces where attention is currency, and it explores that idea without oversensationalizing it.

What lingers isn’t the plot itself, but the feeling it creates, that sense of unease that comes from recognizing pieces of this behavior in real life. It’s not just about one person crossing a line. It’s about how easy it is for that line to disappear entirely when the right incentives are in place. LURKER isn’t flawless, but it’s sharp, uncomfortable, and assured in the story it wants to tell. It finds tension in places where other films might look for spectacle, and it trusts its performances to carry the weight of that choice. Even with a slightly uneven finish, it leaves a strong impression, one that’s difficult to shake once it settles in.

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[photo courtesy of ALLIANCE HOME ENTERTAINMENT, MUBI, HIGH FREQUENCY ENTERTAINMENT, MEMO FILMS, TWIN PRODUCTIONS, ARTS AND SCIENCES DEPARTMENT, ADLER ENTERTAINMENT, CASE STUDY FILMS, WISE PICTURES, VA BENE PRODUCTIONS]

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