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“This whole affair stinks of a cheap TV movie,” remarks a cynical podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose outlandish story he once claimed he believed. Yet his description of what’s happening in the movie isn’t wrong. Superficially, two films on demand chronicling a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars and then murders them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet cable-ready weekly TV movie. The wild thing regarding Influencers remains how much better it is than plenty of its competition, regardless of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller that should give its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those murders (for a time) by seizing control of their online accounts. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to her partner that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can survive. Is this an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the special treatment afforded a single fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her recounting of what happened, including the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as part of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, a role that appears especially tailor-made for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching outfits.) Although the sequel’s focus leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a story of rival investigators, with both women employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue or evade each other. Then again, perhaps the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a knack for gaining access to posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The creative team for Influencers seem similarly ingenious in locating stunning locations to visit, although they were likely more legitimate in their methods. The vast majority of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that remains even as many scenes consist of a handful of actors of characters staring at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle which allowed the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, explosive action and special effects can display a big budget, but just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems inherently cinematic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous surface-level allure and desperate hustle of creating jealousy-worthy online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature as much overhead swimming-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 exacting revenge upon the online stars' narcissistic falseness — nevertheless devotes much time in the glow of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it can be gratifying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification allows us to wish she evades capture, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt during ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob in action will reveal that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids 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 a victim of it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem as if he’s nodding at elements of modern online life without deeply exploring them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers could offer devotees of the original expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the film does eventually provide that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than an wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations may also be what prevents it from coming across like utter horror. Our society might be saturated with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, for now.