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“This whole affair stinks of a bad made-for-TV,” observes an opportunistic podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an outlandish story he once claimed he believed. But his assessment of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like a modern-day version of a lurid yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers is just how superior it proves to be compared to much of the competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those murders (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning writer-director the director resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate the couple’s one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

CW remarks to her partner that a person should try leaving a phone-addicted online personality in a place with no technology and see whether they can survive. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, yet still encounters suspicion over her recounting of what happened, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that normally capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems especially tailor-made to her strengths. (She also designed CW's striking wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a tale of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW both use fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and an apparently limitless travel fund to chase or evade each other. Of course, maybe the vast resources aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for gaining access to posh places at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating beautiful places to visit, though they were presumably more legitimate in their methods. Most of the film seems to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even when many scenes consist of a handful of actors of characters staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, big action and special effects can show off large spending, however simply offering a kind of visual tour to viewers also seems deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much overhead swimming-pool video. The characters must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often everyone — including the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nevertheless spends plenty of time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the vacuousness of online fame. While it is gratifying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment lets us to wish she evades capture, Harder is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced during supposedly dream getaways. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob in action will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids turning into a caricature the character. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his genuine loyalty to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem that he is acknowledging bits of contemporary digital culture without investigating them. This is particularly evident regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, an intriguing development that lacks the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers could offer devotees of the original hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide that, with a suitably wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a polished Hitchcock thriller than a frenzied, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places might also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. The world might be saturated with always-online creators, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, for now.