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“The entire situation smells of a bad made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. Yet his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars and then murders them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid but cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains how much better it is compared to much of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller that should give its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses traveling alone social media targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early mystery, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW’s eye and anger.

CW comments to her partner that a person ought to attempt stranding a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces suspicion regarding her recounting of the events, including the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to juice his career as half of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the curated images that normally capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems particularly custom-fit to her strengths. (She also designed CW's striking wardrobe.) While the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the original felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of dueling investigators, with both women employ fake accounts, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue or evade each other. Of course, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore posh places at little cost, a skill that CW echoes with her more overt scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, though they were presumably less nefarious about it. Most of the movie appears to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even as many scenes involve a relatively small cast of people looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish over the years: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can show off a big budget, however just providing a kind of visual tour for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a narrative so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the original, seem to have entry to impossibly chic contemporary villas; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature this much aerial pool footage. These individuals must believably occupy these lush, far-flung locations to highlight the uneasy irony of how often 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 Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the vacuousness of the influencer industry. Though it is satisfying to see CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison experienced during ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not a victim by it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear that he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the story, an intriguing development that lacks the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the movie does eventually provide that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than an frenzied, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places may also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, for now.