Idolatry in all its forms is hardly a new thing. Humans were born to worship whatever they could. But in today’s well-connected modern age, the lie between idolatry and obsession becomes somewhat easier to blur and cross. That is squarely where Lurker lies. The feature debut of Alex Russell, who has writing credits in Beef and The Bear already to his name, Lurker takes whatever expectations you may have had and throws them unceremoniously out the window.

In this film, Russell asks the question, “What would you do if your favorite artist walked into your place of employment? Would you geek out, or remain aloof? Tell them how much they mean to you or carry on like nothing is out of the ordinary?”

This is where we meet Matthew (Théodore Pellerin). At first glance, he doesn’t seem like the type who could harm anybody. So when pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) walks into the store he works at, it seems like Matthew falls under the “carry on like nothing is out of the ordinary” type.

While his friend Jamie (Sunny Suljic) openly gushes, Matthew pretends like he has never heard of Oliver before, even though he chose to put a specific song on when Oliver first walked into the store. This is just the first domino to fall in a lengthy, twisting path of deceit, obsession, and betrayal.

THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM, HOWEVER

Matthew ingratiates himself into Oliver’s friend group quickly, becoming their assistant videographer alongside Noah (Daniel Zolghadri). While Noah takes their budding documentary seriously, Matthew focuses more on the fun, the B-roll shots. And, of course, to Oliver, it is fun. Why wouldn’t it be?

Matthew, who has largely been an overlooked nobody his entire life, soaks up the attention and secondhand fame. But as he does, he becomes more manic about it. There comes a point where you don’t know what he’ll do: it could be anything. He has a way of quietly disarming you, and that is in no small part thanks to the way Pellerin conveys emotions into everything but his eyes. At first glance, he seems maybe a little bit sad, that sort of withdrawn kind that does not see their worth. But as the movie goes on, his smiles and emotions become more garishly cartoonish. Until that blankness envelops all of his face even when he’s trying to act normal.

Oliver puts on a front as well. He surrounds himself with friends who joke around (Zack Fox and Wale Onayemi) and keep things fun, but that is not him. Oliver is more introspective, as we see when he slowly opens up to Matthew throughout the course of the film. He loves what he does, but he’s afraid of its mortality, and it shows in his pained, oftentimes melancholic, performance.

Fame is a fickle friend, but it is also a powerful one. As Matthew’s ties to Oliver grow and the stakes of losing everything get higher, he begins to see the dangerous gaps in his story. He becomes more ruthless, more ambitious to keep his place within this golden circle. It is here, in the latter half of the film, where Russell lets go of the steering wheel and tells everybody to hold on. It’s a slow build-up, but one that is well worth it for Pellerin’s performance alone.

We see the gradual unweaving of his mind, the horror reflected in the faces of those around him. Lurker finds that blurred line and erases it, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. It shows you the empty side of fame. How, if you’re not happy, it won’t be what magically fixes things, no matter how hard you try. A commentary on today’s society, sure, but a relatable one. And that relatability is what pushes Lurker forward into a thriller.