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“This whole affair stinks like a bad made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an bizarre tale he once said he trusted. Yet his description of what’s happening 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 the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is how much better it proves to be compared to much of its competition, regardless of where you watch it. It is precisely the suspense film that should give its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their socials. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends 2025's Influencers some early mystery, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW remarks to her partner that someone ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

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, now cleared of committing CW’s crimes, but still faces suspicion over her version of what happened, including the killing of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that normally attract CW's interest.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching outfits.) Although the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a story of dueling investigators, with both women both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape each other. Of course, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to film, though they were presumably more legitimate about it. The vast majority of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even when numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent over the years: Indeed, explosive action and special effects can display large spending, however simply offering a kind of visual tour for the audience also seems deeply filmic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating envy-inducing online content.

All of the characters in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much overhead swimming-pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these lush, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how often everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nevertheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, the director has not crafted a rant against the vacuousness of the influencer industry. Though it is gratifying to see CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he keyed into the isolation Madison experienced while on supposedly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will reveal that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the movie does eventually provide that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a wild-eyed, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places may also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, for now.