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“This whole affair smells of a cheap made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest with an outlandish story he once said he trusted. Yet his assessment of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, 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 weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is just how superior it proves to be than plenty of the competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their deaths, and covers up those murders (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, as returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to Diane that someone ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted online personality in a place without any devices and see whether they can make it. Is this an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion over her recounting of the events, including the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as part of a right-wing-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, a role that appears particularly custom-fit to her strengths. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of rival investigators, with both women employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to chase or evade one another. Then again, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore posh places at little cost, an ability that CW echoes with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers appear equally resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, though they were presumably more legitimate in their methods. Most of the movie seems to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even when many scenes involve a handful of actors of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent for decades: Yes, big action and special effects can display a big budget, but just providing a travelogue of sorts for the audience also seems deeply filmic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a narrative so dependent on the simultaneous superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing envy-inducing online content.

Every character visiting Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature this much aerial pool footage. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, far-flung locations to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, the director has not crafted a screed against the emptiness of online fame. Though it is satisfying to see CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced during ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; 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 is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film might give fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the film does eventually provide exactly that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a wild-eyed, technology-obsessed 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 may be overrun with always-online creators, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, for now.