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“This whole affair smells of a cheap TV movie,” remarks an opportunistic commentator during the chilling follow-up Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee with an outlandish story he previously said he trusted. Yet his assessment of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, two 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 tawdry yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains how much better it proves to be than plenty of the competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film capable of giving other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer follows the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) by taking control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, when returning writer-director the director picks up with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW comments to Diane that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed influencer in a place with no technology and see if they can survive. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her recounting of the events, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that normally capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in her role, a role that appears particularly tailor-made 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 functions as a tale of rival amateur detectives, with both women employ fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a talent for gaining access to posh places without paying much, a skill that CW echoes through her more blatant scheming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were likely less nefarious about it. Most of the film seems to be filmed in real places, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even when many scenes involve a relatively small cast of people staring at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent over the years: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off a big budget, however just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle of creating envy-inducing online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much aerial pool video. The characters must believably occupy these lush, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nevertheless devotes much time in the glow of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a screed targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it is gratifying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, 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. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison felt while on ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his true devotion to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited by it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging bits of contemporary digital culture without investigating them. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the plot, 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 ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a polished Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like utter horror. Our society might be saturated with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, for now.