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“Everything about this stinks of a cheap made-for-TV,” states a cynical commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he once said he trusted. But his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand about a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid but cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains 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

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those murders (for a time) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking their one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW comments to her partner that someone ought to attempt leaving a phone-addicted influencer somewhere with no technology to see if they can survive. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the special treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her recounting of what happened, including the killing of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the curated images that normally attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, a role that appears particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) While the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the original felt more equally divided between the two women — it still functions as a tale of rival amateur detectives, with both women both use fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade one another. Then again, maybe the vast resources aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to posh places without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating stunning locations to film, though they were presumably 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 as many scenes involve a relatively small cast of characters staring at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish over the years: Indeed, big action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but just providing a kind of visual tour for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating envy-inducing digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the original, seem to have entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off this much aerial pool footage. The characters must believably inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how often each person — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless devotes much time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a screed targeting the emptiness of online fame. Though it can be gratifying to see CW exploit various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt during supposedly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will reveal that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character further. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a collaborator 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 further. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film could offer fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide that, with a suitably wild final act. However, initially, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. The world may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, at least for now.