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“Everything about this smells of a bad made-for-TV,” states a cynical podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an outlandish story he once said he trusted. But his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn’t wrong. Superficially, a pair of films on demand chronicling a woman who insinuates herself 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 wild thing regarding Influencers is just how superior it proves to be than plenty of the competition, regardless of where you watch it. It is precisely the suspense film capable of giving other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by seizing control of their socials. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW remarks to Diane that someone should try leaving a device-obsessed influencer in a place with no technology to see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment given to a single fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for committing CW's offenses, but still faces doubt regarding her version of the events, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to juice his career as part of a right-wing-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the Instagram photos that normally attract CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems particularly tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's striking wardrobe.) While the sequel’s focus leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a tale of rival investigators, as Madison and CW both use fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade each other. Of course, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for gaining access to luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The creative team for Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating beautiful places to film, although they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even as numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of characters looking at digital devices.

It’s the same principle which allowed the James Bond movies appear so persistently lavish for decades: Yes, big action and visual effects can display large spending, however simply offering a kind of visual tour for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating envy-inducing digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy entry to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off this much aerial pool footage. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — including the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the emptiness of online fame. While it can be gratifying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification lets us to hope she evades capture, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced while on supposedly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his true devotion to his partner; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the plot, an intriguing development which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film could offer devotees of the original expectations of an Aliens-style escalation, and the film ultimately delivers that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a frenzied, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places might also be what keeps it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. The world might be saturated with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.