🔗 Share this article

“The entire situation smells of a bad TV movie,” observes a cynical commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events in the movie isn’t wrong. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a woman who worms her way into the lives of online influencers before killing them feels like a modern-day version of a tawdry but network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers is just how superior it is compared to much of its competition, regardless of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller that should give its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those murders (at least temporarily) by taking control of their online accounts. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, as returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking their one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to her partner that someone ought to attempt leaving a device-obsessed online personality somewhere with no technology and see if they can make it. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' chronological position. The story revisits Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her version of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the curated images that normally capture CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in her role, a role that appears particularly tailor-made for her talents. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a story of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase or evade one another. Of course, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a talent for gaining access to posh places at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious about finding beautiful places to film, although they were likely more legitimate in their methods. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even when many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of people staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle which allowed the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off a big budget, however simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous surface-level allure and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards that don’t show off this much overhead swimming-pool video. These individuals must believably inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a screed against the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it can be satisfying to see CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt while on ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. Here, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his true devotion to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear as if he’s nodding at bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them further. This is especially true regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, an intriguing development which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The pluralized title of Influencers could offer fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style escalation, and the film does eventually provide that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations may also be what keeps it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. The world might be saturated with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself remains present, at least for now.