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“Everything about this stinks like a cheap made-for-TV,” observes an opportunistic podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. But his description of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, two streaming movies about a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of online influencers and then murders them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains how much better it proves to be compared to much of its competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It is precisely the suspense film capable of giving its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those murders (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their online accounts. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, when returning writer-director the director resumes with CW contentedly residing 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 anger.

CW remarks to her partner that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices and see if they can make it. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for committing CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the curated images that typically attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems particularly tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) While the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape one another. Then again, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The creative team for Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to visit, although they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be shot on location, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even when numerous sequences involve a handful of actors of people staring at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can show off large spending, however just providing a kind of visual tour to viewers also feels deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off as much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals must believably inhabit these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how often each person — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless spends plenty of time under the light 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 exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification lets us to wish she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt during ostensibly dream getaways. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he resists caricaturing the character. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his true devotion to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not a victim of it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear that he is acknowledging bits of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the plot, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film could offer fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide exactly that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, it resembles more a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than an frenzied, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places may also be what prevents it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but the world itself remains present, for now.