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“Everything about this stinks like a cheap made-for-TV,” remarks a cynical commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, two films on demand about a woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid yet cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is just how superior it proves to be than plenty of the competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, when returning writer-director the director picks up with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate their one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW remarks to her partner that a person should try leaving a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices and see whether they can survive. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, now cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion over her version of what happened, including the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that normally capture CW’s attention.

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 outfits.) Although the sequel’s focus leans heavily into CW — the original felt more equally divided between the two women — it still functions as a story of rival investigators, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, perhaps the vast resources aren't needed. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore luxurious locales at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The creative team for Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were presumably more legitimate in their methods. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even as many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of characters staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle which allowed the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent for decades: Yes, big action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy 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; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off this much overhead swimming-pool video. The characters must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how often everyone — including the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nevertheless spends plenty of time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a rant against the emptiness of the influencer industry. While 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, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will reveal that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his genuine loyalty to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without investigating them. This is especially true of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The pluralized title of Influencers might give fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a polished Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations may also be what keeps it from coming across like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself is still here, for now.