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“Everything about this stinks like a cheap made-for-TV,” states a cynical podcaster midway through the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest whose outlandish story he once said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand about a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of online influencers before killing them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is how much better it is compared to much of the competition, irrespective 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) while she quietly chooses solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted 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 mystery, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and anger.

CW comments to Diane that someone should try leaving a phone-addicted influencer in a place with no technology to see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW’s crimes, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in her role, a role that appears especially custom-fit to her strengths. (She also designed CW's striking wardrobe.) While the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a story of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue or evade each other. Of course, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore posh places at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The creative team for Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to film, though they were likely less nefarious about it. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that remains even as many scenes consist of a handful of actors of characters staring at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can display large spending, however simply offering a kind of visual tour to viewers also seems deeply filmic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous surface-level allure and try-hard grind of creating envy-inducing online content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to impossibly chic contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off this much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these lush, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how often everyone — even the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the vacuousness of online fame. Though it can be gratifying to see CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to wish she evades capture, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced during ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character further. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging bits of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the movie ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a wild-eyed, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations might also be what keeps it from seeming 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.