Hello, and Happy New Year, horror fans! Welcome to the first 2024 edition of Horror With a Side of Cheese. If this is your first time joining us, here is a quick rundown. I am searching for the cheesiest, most ridiculous genre films ever made. Twice each month, I come here to discuss my latest finds. One thing is changing in the new year: instead of posting on Fridays, I will now be here on Saturdays for all your horror needs. This column will now appear on the first and third Saturdays of the month. Be sure to also check in for Underrated Horror Movie of the Month on the second and fourth Fridays.
Each film discussed here gets a rating between one and five cheese slices. Several factors go into the rating, including story, acting, effects, dialogue and re-watchability. In this edition, I present the 2019 horror movie The Lurker. Stick around to see how many cheese slices this one earns.
About The Lurker
A group of theater students are finishing up their last performance and are preparing to celebrate. Before long, the students begin disappearing. The main character, Taylor (Scout Taylor-Compton), believes she is in danger, and it appears she may be correct. Who is out to get these students, and why? It is important to note that this film falls within the slasher category.
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The Lurker does not have a Tomatometer of Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. It has a 3.2/10 rating on IMDb. The runtime is one hour and 20 minutes.
Fun Fact: There is an online campaign (it is closed at the time of writing) for another horror movie titled The Lurker about a home invasion situation. It is unclear if the film is available anywhere.
My Thoughts
Based on the description and name, I expected a movie dripping in cheesy goodness. That was not the case. There are some cheesy elements, which I will get into shortly, but overall, I think it was trying to be more serious. There are two types of these films. The first category contains those trying to be funny in the form of a horror comedy or a satire horror. The second category is reserved for those films that are supposed to be serious but are so low-budget and poorly executed that they end up being funny. This one does not fall into either of those sections.
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The first thing I want to discuss is the story. There are several aspects here that are worth noting. Firstly, the plot itself is easy to follow but pretty predictable. Even the twist at the end was not particularly surprising. I may have seen too many movies to be surprised by much, but no effort was needed here. Secondly, the scenes skip from the present to flashbacks without any indication of the switch. This is particularly a problem in the beginning. It gets easier to discern after a while. Finally, the story is quite cliched in who the killer is and why they went on a spree.
Next, the dialogue is barely worth talking about. It is pretty bland and does not lend much to the experience. Honestly, the acting feels the same way. Usually, I like Scout Taylor-Compton; she is a talented actress. However, something about this movie brought her down. The performance felt incredibly forced by her and other cast members. “Bland” is the best word to describe my entire experience with The Lurker.
The effects are where we finally get into the cheesy aspect. Most of the blood is in the “okay” realm, but some moments lean more toward the ridiculous. Additionally, some of the “kills” have more of a silly feel to them. The bad guy’s clothing seems like a nod to some famous slashers, specifically Ghostface and Jason. As far as the cheesiness goes, it is all focused on the slashing.
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Finally, re-watchability. The question here is, will I watch this movie again? While I am glad I watched The Lurker, I won’t be revisiting it. It did not catch my attention as either a cheesy or serious horror. I am giving it one cheese slice. If you want to give this one a chance, it is available to rent on most major platforms.
Until next time, horror fans. Stay cheesy, stay spooky, and above all, watch more horror movies. I hope you have an amazing 2024, filled with scary movies, delicious food and all of your goals fulfilled. Before you go, take a look at the trailer for The Lurker below, and head to the comments to let me know what you think of this film.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/top-5-rules-for-surviving-a-horror-movie/
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