Lurker

Final watch of 2025 (remaining logs are for older audio reviews). This is Saltburn off its rocker, but with a more coherent story and an even slimier stalker of a main character that happens to share the same name with the "stalked" popstar... and said character's actor appears in both films. Alex Russell's debut is an uncomfy look at how unhinged parasocial "fan" relationships can be... and granted, a good chunk of the characters involved are absolutely shitty individuals with their own self-serving schemes at hand. Adding to the uncomfy atmosphere is the uncanny chemistry between both leads here: Théodore Pellerin descends into maniacal madness while Archie Madekwe (actually a very convincing singer here!) falls into that trap... but he isn't entirely "innocent" either. I wish there was a deeper dive on this dynamic shared between the duo (and might I add, could've benefited from the freaked-out, homoerotic atmosphere featured in Saltburn), but nonetheless an enjoyable, cringy piece. (Hurry Up Tomorrow has been found dead in a ditch. More news at 11.)