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“The entire situation stinks like a cheap TV movie,” observes a cynical commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an outlandish story he previously said he trusted. But his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of 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 but network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains how much better it proves to be compared to much of the competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film that should give its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer follows the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling influencer targets, lures them to their deaths, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their online accounts. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

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

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, but still faces doubt regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to juice his career as part of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically attract CW’s attention.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems especially custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's eye-catching outfits.) While the follow-up's screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to chase or evade one another. Then again, maybe the vast resources aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for gaining access to posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers appear equally resourceful about finding stunning locations to film, although they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be filmed in real places, giving 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 over the years: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can display a big budget, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and desperate hustle of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to impossibly chic contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much overhead swimming-pool video. These individuals must believably occupy these lush, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how frequently each person — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, the director has not crafted a screed targeting the emptiness of online fame. Though it is gratifying to see CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the isolation Madison felt during supposedly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob in action will reveal that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his genuine loyalty to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem that he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The pluralized title for the film might give devotees of the original expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the film ultimately delivers exactly that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society might be saturated with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, for now.