Lurker (2025)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A man becomes dangerously obsessed with a rising pop musician and infiltrates his inner circle.
The story
Retail worker Matthew Morning works at a Los Angeles clothing store frequented by Oliver, a rising pop musician. After Matthew impresses Oliver with a song, he is invited into Oliver's inner circle as a documentarian. While Matthew is initially met with resistance from Oliver's friends, he eventually gains acceptance and quits his job to focus on the project. However, the dynamic shifts when Matthew's former co-worker, Jamie, joins the group as a stylist. Matthew's growing obsession and jealousy begin to create tension within the group as he becomes increasingly involved in Oliver's life and career.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Matthew Morning, a retail worker, becomes obsessed with pop star Oliver and joins his entourage as a documentarian. After a jealous Matthew injures a new member, Jamie, he is shunned by the group but later blackmails Oliver with secret footage of two underage fans to regain his position. During a tour, Matthew's invasive behavior disturbs Oliver. After a physical confrontation where Oliver's friends beat Matthew to retrieve a hard drive, Oliver sees the documentary footage and reconsider his stance. The film ends at a premiere where a young fan asks Matthew what he must do to be just like him.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alex Russell
- Writers
- Alex Russell · writer
- Cast and characters
- Théodore Pellerin · Matthew Morning; Archie Madekwe · Oliver; Zack Fox · Swett; Havana Rose Liu · Shai; Wale Onayemi · Bowen; Daniel Zolghadri · Noah; Sunny Suljic · Jamie
- Genres
- psychological thriller
- Themes
- obsession; fame; parasocial relationships
- Tone and mood
- tense; psychological
- Premise and plot tags
- stalker; music industry
- Source material / true-story basis
- Black List
- Reception
- Lurker received critical acclaim and was featured on Variety's list of the top ten best films of 2025.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 23
- Awards and nominations
- Best First Screenplay · Independent Spirit Awards · 41st · win; Best First Feature · Independent Spirit Awards · 41st · win
- Production trivia
- The script was featured on the Black List in 2020.; The score was developed by Kenny Beats.; The film was shot in 16 mm film.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…