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“Everything about this reeks of a cheap TV movie,” remarks a cynical podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he previously said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, two streaming movies chronicling a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars and then murders them seems like a modern-day version of a tawdry yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers remains how much better it proves to be than plenty of the competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film capable of giving other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those murders (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, as returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate their first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW remarks to her partner that someone should try leaving a phone-addicted online personality in a place without any devices and see whether they can make it. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion regarding her recounting of what happened, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that normally attract CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, which seems especially tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) While the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original felt more equally divided between the two women — it still works as a tale of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue or evade one another. Then again, perhaps the vast resources aren't needed. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore posh places without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating beautiful places to visit, although they were likely more legitimate about it. Most of the film seems to be shot on location, giving it a real-world weight that remains even when many scenes involve a handful of actors of characters looking at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies appear so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can show off large spending, however simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so dependent on the simultaneous surface-level allure and desperate hustle of creating envy-inducing digital content.

Every character in Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature this much aerial pool video. The characters must believably inhabit these lush, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how frequently each person — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a screed targeting the vacuousness of online fame. While it can be satisfying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he resists turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not a victim by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it can sometimes appear that he’s nodding at bits of modern online life without investigating them further. This is especially true of the way he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychological edge it deserves. The pluralized title for the film might give fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the movie ultimately delivers exactly that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, it resembles more a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than an wild-eyed, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself remains present, for now.