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“Everything about this stinks like a bad TV movie,” states a cynical commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive of a guest whose outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events in the movie isn’t wrong. On its face, two films on demand chronicling a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like a modern-day version of a lurid but cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers remains how much better it is than plenty of its competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses traveling alone social media targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking their first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and anger.

CW comments to Diane that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed influencer somewhere without any devices and see if they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the special treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW’s crimes, yet still encounters suspicion over her recounting of what happened, including the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains immensely captivating in her role, which seems especially tailor-made for her talents. (She also designed CW's striking wardrobe.) While the sequel’s screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still works as a story of dueling amateur detectives, with both women both use fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, perhaps the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, an ability that CW echoes through her more blatant scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly ingenious about finding stunning locations to visit, although they were presumably less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even when many scenes involve a relatively small cast of people staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off large spending, however just providing a travelogue of sorts for the audience also seems deeply filmic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and desperate hustle of creating jealousy-worthy online content.

All of the characters in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; there are movies concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off this much aerial pool video. The characters must believably occupy these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a screed targeting the vacuousness of online fame. Though it is gratifying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively sympathetic to the key influencer figures. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison felt while on supposedly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he resists turning into a caricature the character. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them. This is especially true of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel of Influencers could offer devotees of the original hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the movie does eventually provide that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than an frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations may also be what keeps it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, for now.