Psychological thriller fans, listen up! A new cat-and-mouse story, Lurker, is coming to cinemas this December – and this creepy and unsettling thriller will undoubtedly have you glued to the screen.
The film follows a retail employee as he infiltrates the inner circle of a musician on the verge of stardom. But as he grows closer to the music star, "access and proximity become a matter of life and death", according to the logline.
As a big fan of the psychological thriller genre, I couldn't be more excited for the release of Lurker, which sounds like The Talented Mr Ripley for the social media generation. It comes hot on the heels of hit stalker thrillers like Saltburn and Baby Reindeer, exploring themes of envy and obsession.
Plus, the movie marks the directorial debut of Alex Russell, who won a Primetime Emmy for co-executive producing Netflix's critically acclaimed comedy-drama Beef, and is also known for his work on FX's smash hit kitchen drama, The Bear – two shows which I completely inhaled in one sitting. If Lurker has the same anxiety-inducing pacing as The Bear and a cat-and-mouse narrative as tense as Beef's,then there's no doubt it will be an engaging watch.Keep reading to find out more.
Lurker is billed as an exhilarating cat-and-mouse thriller
What is Lurker about?
The film follows a twenty-something retail clerk who crosses paths with a rising pop star and jumps at the chance to edge his way into the in-crowd. The synopsis continues: "But as the line between friend and fan blurs beyond recognition, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.
"Lurker is an exhilarating cat-and-mouse thriller made for the moment. Online fixation meets reality in this parasocial, paranoid film driven by a brilliant score and star-making performances."
Théodore Pellerin (Franklin, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld) stars as retail worker Matthew, alongside Archie Madekwe (Saltburn, Midsommar) as musician Oliver. They're joined by Sunny Suljic (The Killing of a Sacred Deer) as Jamie, Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms) as Shai, Zack Fox (Abbott Elementary) as Swett, Daniel Zolghadri (Eighth Grade) as Noah and Wale Onayemi as Bowen.
The film has been met with rave reviews from critics, with The Guardian hailing it as a "deviously entertaining Hollywood hanger-on thriller" in its four-star review, while the New York Times described it as a "slippery and supremely of-the-moment psychosexual thriller".
Meanwhile, the film has been hailed as "sharp", "unsettling" and "chilling" in reviews on the online movie and TV database, IMDb, while a viewer praised the movie as "a phenomenal thriller" on X, adding: "It's a tight character study about one's obsessive traits and what they're willing to do to fit into the world of status and popularity."
Lurker, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, arrives in UK cinemas on 12 December. It was released in the United States by Mubi in August 2025.
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