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“This whole affair smells of a cheap made-for-TV,” remarks an opportunistic commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee with an outlandish story he once said he trusted. Yet his assessment of the events on screen isn’t wrong. Superficially, a pair of films on demand about a woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like a modern-day version of a tawdry yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The wild thing regarding Influencers is just how superior it is compared to much of the competition, regardless of screen size. It’s the kind of suspense film capable of giving its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their deaths, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning filmmaker the director resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW remarks to Diane that someone should try stranding a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices and see if they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the special treatment given to one fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the curated images that normally attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in her role, which seems especially custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's striking wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a story of rival investigators, with both women employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase or evade one another. Of course, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a knack for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, although they were presumably less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that remains even when numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies appear so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off large spending, but just providing a travelogue of sorts for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing online content.

All of the characters in Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards which don't feature as much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a rant against the vacuousness of the influencer industry. Though it can be gratifying to see CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification lets us to hope she evades capture, Harder is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced during supposedly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity 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 other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it may occasionally seem that 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 might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations may also be what prevents it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. The world might be saturated with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, for now.