LURKER Trailer: Théodore Pellerin Becomes Obsessed With Pop Star Archie Madekwe in Sundance Breakout

One of the most buzzed-about and stunning movies of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was writer-director Alex Russell’s Lurker. Russell, who was a writer on the Emmy-winning shows The Bear and Beef, makes his feature directorial debut with this look at the twisted nature of fame in Los Angeles. The cat-and-mouse parasocial thriller stars Théodore Pellerin as an ambitious, yet socially-obsessed young man who becomes intertwined with a rising pop star (Archie Madekwe). Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Zack Fox, Wale Onayemi, and Daniel Zolghadri also star. MUBI acquired the film following its Sundance premiere and has just released the official trailer ahead of its August 22 release date in theaters.

Here’s the official synopsis:

When a twenty-something retail clerk encounters a rising pop star, he takes the opportunity to edge his way into the in-crowd. But as the line between friend and fan blurs beyond recognition, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

I wrote in our ND/NF preview, “One of the best movies to come out of this year’s Sundance was writer-director Alex Russell’s stalker-thriller Lurker. Russell, who was a writer on Beef and The Bear, puts the same level of intense dark comedy in ND/NF’s Closing Night film, which shines a new light on influencers in today’s music industry. Théodore Pellerin stars as Matthew, a Los Angeles-based clothing store clerk who finds himself in the orbit of rising musician Oliver (Archie Madekwe) and his posse. As Oliver gains more success and fame, backstabbing and manipulation ensue, Matthew refuses to give up his position in this group (or his closeness with Oliver) without a twisted fight. If MUBI is trying to find its Gen Z audience, Lurker is a great start. Leave your expectations by the theater entrance and prepare to be jaw-dropped.”

Check out the trailer and poster below.

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