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“This whole affair reeks of a bad made-for-TV,” remarks a cynical podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive of a guest whose outlandish story he previously said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, two streaming movies about a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of online influencers before killing them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid but cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains just how superior it is compared to much of the competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer follows the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends 2025's Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning writer-director the director resumes with CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW’s eye and ire.

CW remarks to Diane that someone ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted online personality in a place with no technology to see whether they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the preferential treatment afforded one 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 cleared of committing CW’s crimes, yet still encounters doubt over her version of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to juice his career as part of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that normally capture CW's interest.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in her role, a role that appears especially custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's striking outfits.) Although the sequel’s screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the first film felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of dueling investigators, as Madison and CW both use fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape one another. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore posh places without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly ingenious about finding beautiful places to film, though they were likely less nefarious about it. The vast majority of the movie appears to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even as many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of people looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise appear so persistently lavish over the years: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can display a big budget, however just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so dependent on the coexisting surface-level allure and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature this much aerial pool video. These individuals have to convincingly inhabit these lush, far-flung locations to highlight the uneasy irony of how often everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' narcissistic falseness — nevertheless spends plenty of time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a rant against the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it can be satisfying to watch CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification lets us to hope she evades capture, the filmmaker is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison felt during supposedly envy-worthy vacations. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists 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 collaborator in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of this balanced approach is that it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging bits of contemporary digital culture without investigating them. This is especially true of the way he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it should have. The pluralized title of Influencers could offer fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale ante-upping, and the film ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations might 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 reality itself remains present, for now.