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“The entire situation stinks like a bad TV movie,” observes a cynical podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. But his description of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the worlds of social media stars before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet network-approved Movie of the Week. The wild thing regarding Influencers is just how superior it proves to be compared to much of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller that should give other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and covers up those murders (for a time) by seizing control of their online accounts. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning filmmaker the director resumes with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking their one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to her partner that a person ought to attempt stranding a device-obsessed 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 preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, but still faces doubt regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to juice his career as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the curated images that typically capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains immensely captivating in her role, which seems especially custom-fit to her strengths. (She also designed CW's striking outfits.) Although the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a story of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to chase or evade each other. Then again, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, although they were presumably less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that remains even as many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of characters staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent for decades: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can display large spending, but just providing a kind of visual tour to viewers also seems inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much aerial pool video. The characters must believably inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how frequently everyone — including the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — 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 online fame. Though it can be gratifying to see CW manipulate various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment lets us to wish she evades capture, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison felt while on supposedly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob in action will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids turning into a caricature the character. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his true devotion to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them further. This is especially true regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it should have. The pluralized title for the film could offer devotees of the original expectations of an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the film ultimately delivers that, with an appropriately wild final act. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a frenzied, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations might also be what keeps it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. The world might be saturated with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but the world itself is still here, at least for now.