Lurker: Russell's Unsettling Stalker Story Wanders Aimlessly

Alex Russell knows how to write a suspenseful story. His writing being featured in popular and award-winning shows likeThe Bear and Beef prove Russell has the craftsmanship to create tension and nervousness in viewers, enough so for accolades. Lurker, Russell’s feature debut, is eerie in its accuracy. The film's critique of stan culture and parasocial relationships between fans and celebrity is correct in its analysis and mostly doesn’t feel outside the realm of possibility for how hardcore fans can act. From social media stalking to uninvited home visits, Lurker explores the consequences a budding singer faces when letting, unbeknownst to him, a stan into his inner circle. Despite its clear message and unsettling vibes, Lurker failed to reach a climax and its unsettling energy that builds throughout ultimately falls flat in the end.

Matthew (Theodore Pellerin) is working at a popular clothing store in Los Angeles when an up and coming artist named Oliver (Archie Madekwe) visits the store. Oliver is excited and surprised to hear a song he loves playing over the speakers and asks who put the song on. Matthew casually tells Oliver he put the song on and he grew up listening to this type of music. Oliver eagerly invites Matthew to his show since he plays similar music and Matthew claims he’s never heard of Oliver. Matthew enjoys the show and is invited to hang with Oliver and his crew which include his childhood best friends, Swett (Zack Fox) and Bowen (Wale Onayemi) and friends/team members Shai (Havana Rose Liu) and Noah (Daniel Zolghadri). At the kickback, Matthew’s eyes are only on Oliver, leaving the rest of the group hanging and observing his lack of interest in their friendship.

Oliver however delights in Matthew’s company and asks him to come around to help with a new music video. At first, Matthew is useful, coming up with ideas Oliver likes and supporting Noah with the filming of the video. After he gains Oliver's trust, however, Matthew starts to sabotage Noah’s place in the group so the budding popstar can further rely on him. Matthew and Oliver’s collaboration continues and they begin to affectionately call each other Mattie and Ollie. The progression of their relationship is intriguing to watch and although it’s clear to Ollie’s friends that something is off, Ollie seems not to mind at all. It’s hard to tell whether this is because he is genuinely unaware and being generous to Mattie or if he secretly knows Mattie is a fan and enjoys being the object of his hyperfixation.

Ollie and the crew travel to London for Ollie’s show, and while there, Mattie takes his jealousy a bit too far. He pushes one of their mutual friends off a tall ladder during a moment of insecurity, causing an injury. This moment marks a turning point – Mattie’s true colors are being shown in front of Ollie for the first time. The intensity and intentionality sparks some fear in the group and tensions really start to build by the end of the trip. The relationship shifts after they arrive home from the trip and Ollie becomes unnerved by Mattie’s behavior while his crew has long been weirded out. Ollie tries to boot Mattie from his crew by having Shai break the news to Mattie that he isn’t allowed at Oliver’s house anymore. Mattie doesn’t take this removal from the crew well and begins plotting ways to re-enter. The situation continues to escalate as Mattie finds more and more threatening ways to remain on the inside with Ollie, even when he knows the connection is far from genuine.

Lurker’s story is very on the nose when it comes to analyzing stan culture. The relationship Russell creates between Ollie and Mattie is mutually beneficial. Ollie revels in the adoration Mattie gives him and Mattie relishes in the attention Oliver gives him. This is why Ollie is blind to Mattie’s odd behaviors at first, ignoring the fact his friends find Mattie to be a little strange. This is similar to the dynamics we see in real life where celebrities enjoy and sometimes even encourage the attention they garner  from their devoted fandoms’.To outsiders though, this dynamic may make little sense or feel like one side is greatly benefiting (i.e. making money) while the other can seem obsessive or unhinged. Through social alignment with a high-achieving person and thus elevation of their social status, the stan feels like a part of something bigger than themselves. Their contribution, whether it be time, money or social media posts, feels worth it to see their favorite celebrity succeed and play a small role in that success. As Oliver becomes more famous, Mattie is able to ride his coattails, gaining more social media followers, getting recognized in-person and even people asking him for selfies. This makes Mattie feel interesting and empowered, similar to how stans can feel in real life.

The visuals Russell presents throughout the film further contribute to this commentary on the celebrity/fan relationship. As an example, Oliver’s bedroom has a giant hole on the wall across from his bed that opens into the living room. Anyone in the living room is able to look into the most personal part of Oliver’s room. The metaphors present here are obvious – fan expectations of celebrity personal life, limited yet intimate glimpses into their life, never escaping the magnifying glass of scrutiny. In a different scene, Mattie films Ollie from the perspective of a sheep. Another metaphor that could be read a few different ways but ultimately speaks to the place of celebrity and fan – the distance, the lack of understanding and the simplicity. The metaphors are deliberate and are cosistent Russell’s somewhat on-the-nose take of the celebrity fan relationship.

Although the film has a clear message and well-paired visuals, Lurker has some inconsistency in pacing. There was clear escalation after the crew travelled to London and Mattie’s initial retaliation is quite extreme but from there it seems to fizzle. The unnerving feelings remained, but there was uncertainty in what it was building towards. At the film's conclusion, it felt like it wasn’t building too much of anything but rather trying to infuse more social commentary into the story that already had a clear message. The film gives the impression that Russell had social commentary that he wanted to get across to the audience very clearly and the plot and story came second to the message. This could be a product of the popularity of “elevated” horror or the idea that a horror film must have some type of deeper meaning or wider message. The story however should ameliorate the message and not feel like they’re dragging each other down. Ultimately, there was a feeling of dissatisfaction after Lurker ended and I wanted to like it more than I did, at least for all the great technical aspects.

I can appreciate where Alex Russell was coming from with Lurker. The parasocial relationships that have overtaken social media are concerning and drive fans to do illogical things for their favorite star. The concept of exploring an emergent friendship between an up and coming singer and fan is intriguing and the complexity of their social media and technology adds a new layer of exploration. This film wasn’t for me, but I do think Alex Russell’s direction beat his writing here, and if he can strike the right balance he could create a great film that sticks.

If you enjoyed Lurker, you should check out Swarm. A mini-series about toxic fandom created by Donald Glover and starring Dominique Fishback.

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