Sundance 2025 Review: LURKER, Parasocial Obsession, Pop Stardom and Celebrity Worship, Together Again

Lead Critic; San Francisco, California
Sundance 2025 Review: LURKER, Parasocial Obsession, Pop Stardom and Celebrity Worship, Together Again
In writer-director Alex Russell’s (Beef, The Bear, Dave) remarkably impressive feature-length debut, Lurker, a rando, a fan-turned-stan, and an obsessive narcissist with sociopathic tendencies, Matthew Morning (Théodore Pellerin), finds himself perfectly situated to leverage a supposedly chance meeting with an up-and-coming pop star with an outsized ego and narcissistic tendencies of his own, Oliver (Archie Madekwe), at the no-frills, up-market LA boutique where Matthew works.
 
It’s a match made in cult of personality/celebrity heaven (or hell, depending on your perspective). 
 
When two narcissists meet, egos inevitably collide, metaphorical battle lines drawn, allies won and lost, and winners and losers apportioned according to their relentlessness and willingness to use any means necessary to "win." Just as inevitably, power structures shift, often in surprising or shocking ways.
 
Oliver has the initial upper hand: he has everything Matthew can only imagine having one distant, unlikely day: Power, of course, but wealth, privilege, and the aforementioned status as a pop star worshipped by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of followers on or off social media. 
 
With one album to his singular name and a second already in production, Oliver’s future as a musical artist isn’t just bright; it’s practically inevitable, And where there’s a cult of celebrity, exacerbated by social media and the inherently unbalanced nature of parasocial relationships, a cult of personality will surely follow, including the usual assortment of hangers-on, old friends and associates, and talent managers and agents, each one using their proximity to fame to their own advantage. 
 
Matthew, however, arrives to Oliver’s perpetual party at an initial disadvantage. Oliver already has an entourage and a wary, protective manager, Shai (Havana Rose Liu), keen to keep Oliver focused on producing his next hit-making, record-breaking album, the album that will transform Oliver from a pop star to a mega-star. With disarming ease, Oliver charms the seemingly naive, gormless Matthew into becoming his latest worshipper/member of his exclusive entourage, claiming he appreciates Matthew’s keep observational skills, honesty, and creativity (more about that later).
 
As the psychological game between Matthew and Oliver unfolds, it’s obvious Matthew is far shrewder, far more clever, and far more willing to do anything to curry Oliver’s favor and move into his inner circle. He makes himsel useful (cleaning Oliver’s lavish house, doing laundry for the pop star, or simply listening to Oliver as needed) and then, he hopes, indispensable.
 
When one of Matthew’s casual friends and ex-coworkers, Jamie (Sunny Suljic), slips into Oliver’s circle with minimal effort, Matthew assesses the threat to his still unstable position within Oliver's circle and acts accordingly, revealing himself as cold and calculating. Matthew will do anything for fame or in his case, the proximity to fame.
 
A dangerous intoxicant, that proximity to fame drives Matthew into unconscionable, ethical behavior, but once he's forced out, Matthew cunningly finds a way back in, shifting approval-seeking power dynamics from Oliver to himself, entering subversive narrative territory that echoes both Saltburn and Nightcrawler in their depressingly accurate exploration of narcissism, sociopathy, and a certain subset of society ill-prepared to handle either, dooming itself —and us — in the process. 
 
Russell’s multi-layered exploration of pop star-centered narcissism and sociopathy dovetails neatly, maybe too neatly, with a parallel examination of the cult of personality/celebrity and parasocial relationships. Oliver sits on one side of the equation, Matthew on the other, their relative positions mutable as changing circumstances dictate. And while Matthew obviously “needs” Oliver to satisfy his own, vaguely defined ambitions, Oliver in turn recognizes a pop superstar can’t survive or thrive without acolytes, followers, or worshippers.  
 
Both Pellerin and Madekwe give standout performances, elevating Russell’s already sensational script to the highest possible level. As Matthew, Pellerin plays him initially as an awkward, needy nerd, lacking in social graces, uncomfortable in his body, but once Matthew fully ingratiates himself into Oliver’s inner circle, subtle differences in Matthew’s demeanor and body language begin to surface, more controlled, more self-confident, and far more vicious. 
 
Completely believable as a pop star on and off stage, the Madekwe delivers a character-revealing performance, self-entitled and prickly one moment, achingly vulnerable the next, full of bluster and ego publicly, full of self-doubt and uncertainty privately. He’s both the object of obsession for fans, stans, and so-called friends, and a subject consciously choosing his own future, possibly with the Matthew as his unlikely guide to mega-stardom, a cult of personality to call his own, and the unqualified worship of millions.
 
Lurker premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Visit the film's page at the official festival site

Lurker

Director(s)
  • Alex Russell
Writer(s)
  • Alex Russell
Cast
  • Havana Rose Liu
  • Sunny Suljic
  • Daniel Zolghadri
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Archie MadekweHavana Rose LiuLurkerSunny SuljicThéodore PellerinAlex RussellDaniel ZolghadriDrama

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