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“This whole affair stinks like a bad made-for-TV,” observes an opportunistic podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee whose bizarre tale he once said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening on screen isn’t wrong. Superficially, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers before killing them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid yet network-approved Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers is how much better it proves to be than plenty of its competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those murders (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their online accounts. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to her partner that a person should try stranding a phone-addicted online personality in a place with no technology and see whether they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the special treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters doubt regarding her version of the events, which includes the killing of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to juice his career as part of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that typically attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching outfits.) Although the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of dueling investigators, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade each other. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore posh places without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to film, though they were likely more legitimate in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even when many scenes involve a handful of actors of people staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies appear so consistently opulent over the years: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can display a big budget, but just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off as much aerial pool video. The characters have to convincingly occupy these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, the director has not crafted a rant against the vacuousness of the influencer industry. While it is satisfying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to hope she evades capture, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob at work will reveal that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he resists turning into a caricature the character further. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his genuine loyalty to his partner; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film could offer fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale ante-upping, and the film ultimately delivers exactly that, with a suitably wild final act. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations may also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself remains present, for now.