GENRE | 'Lurker' Stalks the Proximity of Fame x Fantasia 2025

"You don't have to do all of this weird sh*t to hangout with us."

Fantasia International Film Festival

Lurker, The Bear writer/producer Alex Russell's directorial debut about a nobody clothing store clerk's slow intoxication with the proximity of fame after he's invited into a rising pop star's inner circle of hangers-on, is a promising parasocial thriller. Starring Quebec actor Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe as the aforementioned outsider fan and famous singer, Matty and Ollie, audiences are dropped into the more mundane parts of maintaining stardom before the disturbing elements of stalker culture are exposed.

Russell's eye for capturing the everyday moments of hanging around a celebrity entourage at its most basic levels slowly builds plenty of effective dramatic suspense. We see how easily infatuation turns to a daily fixation and possessive obsession as the unnerving Matty becomes more and more manipulative to ingratiate then affix himself into the star's good graces at the expense of others around them. Soon, his eerie cloyingness bothers the group, including Oliver's nonplussed hype man (Zack Fox) and protective manager (Havana Rose Liu).

The incisive film perfectly distills the essence and emptiness of social media fame in our current digital age. It dramatizes the easy intoxication of fame through friendship and influencers. Most of Lurker frames itself as an extended but ruthlessly sinister tale of being perpetually starstruck, told in the vein of a contemporary Ripley. Its sun-drenched Los Angeles setting only furthers the cruel mentality of show business using and abusing its ambitious players.

Lurker screened at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. It also screens at the Rio Theatre on September 24th.


More | YVArcade / Cult MTL / JoySauce / That Shelf