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“The entire situation reeks like a cheap TV movie,” observes 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 previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand chronicling a woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry but cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers remains just how superior it is compared to much of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) by taking control of their online accounts. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, as returning writer-director the director resumes with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW comments to her partner that a person ought to attempt leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can make it. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been exonerated for committing CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her version of the events, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a right-wing-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that normally capture CW's interest.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic 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 leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a story of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to chase or evade each other. Of course, maybe the vast resources aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for gaining access to luxurious locales at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scheming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly ingenious in locating beautiful places to film, though they were likely less nefarious in their methods. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that remains even when many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of people looking at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent over the years: Indeed, explosive action and special effects can show off a big budget, however simply offering a kind of visual tour for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting surface-level allure and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

Every character visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off as much aerial pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these lush, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how frequently each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a rant targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it is gratifying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat sympathetic to the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison experienced during supposedly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob in action will reveal that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not a victim of it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear that he’s nodding at elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. 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 hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with a suitably wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations might also be what keeps it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself is still here, at least for now.