Alex Russell’s “Lurker” (2025) revolves around a fan of a budding music star who infiltrates the star’s inner circle, only to realize that it is far from what he imagined. The film becomes the latest project to shed light on the perils of celebrity worship and a growing thirst for fame through the eyes of a seemingly naive fan. More recently, Janine Nabers addressed a similar concept through her psychological thriller plot for “Swarm,” while Matt Spicer highlighted it through the black comedic plot of “Ingrid Goes West.” Russell handles this subject matter with a similarly bleak and cynical approach. Still, his film has its share of tender moments about his groupie protagonist, which feel more in line with Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous.”
Russel alternates between the perspectives of the fan and the star to present their push-and-pull dynamic, which gets increasingly chaotic along the way. He portrays these two almost like ill-fated lovers who struggle to be together but fail to live apart from each other. While doing so, he also makes it a mirror to the uphill battle in the creative industry, where people are often pitted against each other to stand a chance for due recognition in the long run. By the film’s end, the fan in Russel’s script receives it, but only after going through an intense journey filled with scrutiny, sabotage, and humiliation.
Spoilers Ahead
Lurker (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Lurker,” written and directed by Alex Russell, follows a young man who tries to cement his position in the inner circle of an up-and-coming music star whom he secretly admires.
What happens in Alex Russell’s Lurker?
Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) and Oliver (Archie Madekwe) first cross paths at a retail store where Matthew works. Oliver walks inside the store and gets instantly recognized by most customers. Matthew also realizes who Oliver is, but he pretends he doesn’t know him. While everyone vies for Oliver’s attention, Matthew plays a song he knows would help him break the ice with this celebrity. It works as he hopes it would. But still, he pretends he doesn’t listen to any new music like Oliver’s — to make Oliver vie for his attention instead. It makes Oliver feel like he should prove his chops to this retail employee with a good taste in music. That’s why he invites Matthew to his next gig.
Matthew soon shows up backstage to meet Oliver’s entourage, which includes Swett (Zack Fox) and Bowen (Olawale Onayemi). Unlike his expectations, they don’t respect him. Instead, he gets humiliated right away. Still, he finds a kinder companion in Shai (Havana Rose Liu), who offers him an inside look into Oliver’s performance. She tells Matthew to make himself useful. So, after the performance, he joins Oliver back at his house and shares nothing but praise about the first-hand experience of his set. Oliver immediately offers Matthew a chance to be a part of his circle. Upon the invitation, Matthew returns to Oliver’s house to speak about the work, but Oliver is nowhere to be seen.
Swett and Bowen see it as an opportunity to bully this young man for their pleasure. Noah (Daniel Zolghadri), who works as Oliver’s cameraman and editor, doesn’t pay him any heed. Even Oliver, who arrives later, doesn’t care about Matthew’s presence. Matthew, however, refuses to be a fly on the wall. So, he takes out his camcorder and shoots footage of Oliver playing around with his bike.
How does Matthew infiltrate Oliver’s inner circle?
Oliver is impressed by Matthew’s gusto, or at least he pretends to be, and gives his seal of approval for Matthew’s work. It immediately boosts Matthew’s confidence, which makes him win a video game against Swett and Bowen. After that, Noah vies for Matthew’s attention, but only so he gets the footage. He sees Matthew as a threat to his position as the show’s de facto creative director. It becomes clearer at a later date when Matthew joins him to shoot a music video. Noah orders him to fetch the extra batteries for his DSLR, only to realize that he forgot to bring them in the first place. It means they might have to end the shoot without the necessary footage.
Noah unsuccessfully tries to shift the blame to Matthew. But unlike him, Matthew finds a creative alternative to finish the shoot. It cements his position as Oliver’s new videographer, replacing Noah, but it’s not simply Noah who feels threatened by his presence. Swett and Bowen often put him down or humiliate him primarily for similar reasons. Regardless, Matthew gets closer and closer to Oliver to the point that Oliver calls him his best friend. That makes him feel seen and heard. So, he quickly turns into a toxic groupie who sees everyone else as a threat to his position. That’s exactly what happens between him and his retail-store colleague, Jamie (Sunny Suljic), who invites himself to a party and seamlessly fits into the group.
Yet, there’s a key difference between him and Matthew: he simply wants to be around the group, while Matthew has bigger ambitions. It compels Matthew to resort to desperate steps against Noah, which backfire on him. While on tour in London with the group, he intentionally keeps Jamie away to maintain his status. Still, Shai sees through him and brings Jamie back from the airport security, who detained him because Matthew did not help him.
Why is Matthew thrown out of the inner circle?
While in the UK, Matthew begins taking photos of Oliver to promote his new album. Unlike before, he disagrees with most of Oliver’s opinions to defend his creative approach. That’s when Jamie and Noah enter the photoshoot and become the yes-men that Oliver is used to having around. So, Oliver listens to them instead, which makes Mathhew feel rejected. Hence, in the heat of the moment, he hurts Jamie, imprudently assuming everyone will be on board with his silliness. Instead, they abandon him and return home. Unable to be close to Oliver, he returns to work at the retail store. That’s where he meets Oliver’s two fans, who remind him of his broken bond with Oliver. So, he decides to get back at Oliver by sending them backstage at Oliver’s next gig.
The two girls somehow end up at Oliver’s house. Matthew recovers footage of their time through a security camera he once installed in Oliver’s house and uses it to blackmail his way back into the squad. Since the girls are underage, Oliver can’t do anything but accept Matthew’s wishes, or else Matthew might taint his reputation.
Lurker (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
How does Matthew return to Oliver’s entourage?
Matthew returns to Oliver’s inner circle by blackmailing him with footage of underage girls spending time with him at his house. This, however, changes the hierarchy within the entourage. He starts ordering Oliver and others to do things instead of the other way around. Yet, despite being close to them, he loses the warmth that defined his relationship with Oliver. Soon, Oliver gets tired of Matthew’s antics and requests that he delete the incriminating video on his hard drive to restore a healthier working relationship. Matthew seizes that opportunity to confront Oliver about his music, which is mediocre because no one in his group wants to go against his word and criticize it.
The moral is: if Oliver gets only validation, he will never want to improve himself. As the tables turn, it’s Matthew who makes Oliver feel seen and appreciated. Oliver is almost paralyzed by Matthew’s mind tricks, leading him to say yes to everything the young man says. Since he keeps mum about it all, Swett, Noah, and Bowen take matters into their own hands and attack Matthew when he least expects it. They drag him out of their tour bus and beat him to a pulp. As Oliver watches them from a distance, Matthew tells him how much it all means to him. Remorseful Oliver returns to the bus to watch a music video Matthew recently directed, where the lyrics echo their bond, straddling between love and obsession in his pursuit of perfection.
Does Matthew sabotage his position in Oliver’s inner circle for good?
The whole blackmail charade doesn’t sabotage Matthew’s position in Oliver’s group; it emboldens him. That’s why, in the film’s final moments, he joins Oliver on stage to speak about the documentary he ends up finishing along the way. By then, Oliver had already received a Grammy nomination and had restored his brotherly friendship with Matthew. While on stage with him, Matthew gets asked about his journey by an aspiring filmmaker. The film ends right when Matthew is about to answer that young fan’s question. So, the ending leaves the fate of their bromance up for interpretation.
While the final moments show them together, it doesn’t say anything about the video and whether Matthew deleted it or not. In the past, it caused a rift between them, but it may have unwittingly helped Oliver see Matthew as an inseparable part of his inner circle. Still, unlike Oliver, the groupies do not look remotely pleased by Matthew’s return. So, there might be more betrayal and sabotage in Matthew’s future. Since we don’t learn the events between the beating and the on-stage praise, we don’t know whether the groupies are comfortable with Oliver being around them. So, he may or may not be in Oliver’s inner circle for good.
Lurker (2025) Movie Themes Analyzed
Fan-culture, Obsession and the Mechanics of the Creative Industry
The film’s title refers to a part of fan culture that may not be as openly appreciative as others, but shares the obsession regardless of their appearance. That’s why the film works like a pervasive thriller, veering into atmospheric horror, as Matthew steps into Oliver’s personal space through less noticeable forms of manipulation and persuasion. It all ties into the film’s observations about similar fan cultures that thrive on blind worship of an ever-elusive celebrity. The script analyzes these elements to reveal the corrupt nature of the creative industry, where people often try to save their skin instead of helping others, fearing the risk of being thrown out or replaced at any given moment.
