“What’s the difference between love and obsession?”
“Stans” have become a source of heated discussion over recent years, as some fan accounts on social media have infamously harassed, stalked or doxxed whoever dares go against their faves. Eminem, who invented the term with his 2000 hit of the same name, premiered the documentary STANS at SXSW London earlier this week.
And now there’s a film about standom in the digital age. Written and directed by former music journalist Alex Russell (The Bear, Beef) in his directorial debut, and starring Archie Madekwe (Saltburn, Midsommar), Théodore Pellerin (Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, Beau is Afraid), Havana Rose Liu (Bottoms), Daniel Zolghadri (Y2K), Sunny Suljic (mid90s) and Zack Fox (Abbott Elementary) — with original songs composed by Kenny Beats — Lurker is a psychological thriller about a retail clerk loner who jumps at the chance to befriend a rising pop star. But as Oliver (Madekwe) starts to blow up and go mainstream, his circle grows smaller, leading to Matthew (Pellerin) finding himself on the outside looking in and having to prove himself as more than just a hanger-on.
Russell told Variety that he wrote the film during the COVID lockdown of 2020 and admitted that he didn’t know what he was doing in terms of figuring out how to direct the movie, but he’s happy with the results. He also said he pulled inspiration from the clout-chasing that goes on in places like L.A., where people are thirsty to be part of celebrity entourages.
“That’s the large joke of the movie,” he told the outlet. “What is the point of this sort of inter-competitive nature in this hierarchy of boys? Obviously this is dramatized, and I don’t think I’ve actually seen any of the stuff in this movie [happen], but it’s within the realm of possibility. I’ve heard people say, ‘This is the realest thing ever,’ and I’ve also heard, ‘This is so unbelievable.’ And I’m like, then you don’t know this world.”
You can check out the trailer below before the film hits theaters on Aug. 22.
