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“This whole affair stinks like a bad TV movie,” states an opportunistic commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way of a guest with an bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. Yet his assessment of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand about a woman who insinuates herself into the worlds of online influencers before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid but network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers remains just how superior it is compared to much of its competition, regardless of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their online accounts. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early mystery, as returning filmmaker the director picks up with CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW remarks to Diane that someone should try stranding a phone-addicted online personality somewhere without any devices to see whether they can survive. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment given to 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 exonerated for committing CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion regarding her version of the events, including the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as part of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the Instagram photos that normally attract CW’s attention.

Naud remains immensely captivating in her role, which seems particularly tailor-made for her talents. (She even created CW's striking wardrobe.) While the sequel’s focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a tale of rival amateur detectives, with both women both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to posh places without paying much, an ability that CW echoes with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating beautiful places to visit, although they were likely more legitimate in their methods. The vast majority of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that lingers even as numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle which allowed the Bond franchise look so consistently opulent for decades: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can show off large spending, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting surface-level allure and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to impossibly chic modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off as much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how often everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, the director has not crafted a screed against the vacuousness of online fame. Though it is satisfying to see CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison felt 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 doofuses; he avoids caricaturing the character further. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect by showing his true devotion to his partner; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not a victim of it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem that he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them further. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it should have. The pluralized title for the film might give devotees of the original expectations of a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations may also be what prevents it from coming across like utter horror. Our society might be saturated with always-online creators, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but the world itself remains present, for now.