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“The entire situation reeks of a cheap made-for-TV,” observes a cynical podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose outlandish story he once claimed he believed. But his description of the events on screen isn’t wrong. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the lives of online influencers and then murders them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid but cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains how much better it proves to be than plenty of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film capable of giving its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by taking control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, when returning filmmaker the director resumes with CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to Diane that a person should try stranding a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices and see if they can survive. Is this a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment afforded one fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion over her recounting of what happened, which includes the killing of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to juice his career as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically capture CW's interest.

Naud remains immensely captivating in her role, a role that appears especially tailor-made for her talents. (She even created CW's eye-catching outfits.) While the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the original felt more equally divided between the two women — it still works as a tale of dueling investigators, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape one another. Of course, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for gaining access to posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating beautiful places to film, though they were likely more legitimate about it. Most of the movie appears to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that lingers even when numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of characters staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish over the years: Yes, big action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature this much aerial pool video. The characters must believably inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how frequently each person — even the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' narcissistic falseness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a screed targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it is gratifying to see CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock 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 isolation Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists turning into a caricature the character further. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The flip side of this balanced approach is that it can sometimes appear that he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film could offer devotees of the original expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the film ultimately delivers exactly that, with a suitably wild final act. But before that, it’s more like a polished Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what prevents it from coming across like utter horror. The world may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself remains present, for now.