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“Everything about this smells like a bad made-for-TV,” observes an opportunistic podcaster midway through the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. But his description of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a woman who insinuates herself into the worlds of social media stars and then murders them feels like a modern-day version of a lurid but network-approved Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers remains just how superior it is than plenty of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses traveling alone social media targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those murders (at least temporarily) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder resumes with CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

CW remarks to Diane that a person ought to attempt stranding a device-obsessed influencer in a place without any devices and see whether they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment afforded one fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to juice his career as half of a conservative-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically attract CW’s attention.

Naud remains immensely captivating in the part, which seems particularly custom-fit to her strengths. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) While the follow-up's focus leans heavily into CW — the original felt more equally divided between the two women — it still functions as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape one another. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore posh places without paying much, a skill that CW echoes through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to film, though they were likely more legitimate about it. Most of the film appears to be shot on location, providing it a real-world weight that lingers even when numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of people staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish over the years: Indeed, explosive action and special effects can show off large spending, however just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels deeply filmic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

Every character in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals have to convincingly inhabit these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a screed against the emptiness of online fame. While it can be 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, Harder is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt during supposedly dream getaways. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil 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 is two-faced, but Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not a victim by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear that he’s nodding at bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is especially true of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The pluralized title of Influencers could offer devotees of the original hope for a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than a frenzied, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy 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 exploitative travel, but the world itself is still here, for now.