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“The entire situation reeks like a bad made-for-TV,” remarks a cynical commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. But his description of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand about a young woman who insinuates herself into the worlds of social media stars before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a tawdry but network-approved Movie of the Week. The wild thing regarding Influencers is just how superior it proves to be than plenty of the competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller that should give its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while 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 socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, as returning writer-director the director resumes with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to Diane that someone ought to attempt leaving a phone-addicted online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can make it. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the special treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters doubt regarding her recounting of the events, including the murder of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to juice his career as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that normally capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) While the follow-up's focus leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of rival investigators, with both women both use fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade one another. Of course, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a talent for gaining access to posh places at little cost, a skill that CW echoes with her more overt scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers seem similarly ingenious in locating beautiful places to film, though they were presumably less nefarious about it. Most of the film seems to be filmed in real places, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even when numerous sequences consist of a handful of actors of characters looking at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can display a big budget, however just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating envy-inducing digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards that don’t show off as much aerial pool footage. The characters have to convincingly inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed against the vacuousness of online fame. Though it is satisfying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment lets us to hope she evades capture, the filmmaker is somewhat sympathetic to the key influencer figures. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison experienced during ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he resists turning into a caricature the character further. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect by showing his true devotion to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without deeply exploring them further. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the plot, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers might give devotees of the original expectations of an Aliens-style escalation, and the movie does eventually provide exactly that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society might be saturated with always-online creators, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.