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“Everything about this reeks of a bad made-for-TV,” states a cynical commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. Yet his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, two streaming movies chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars before killing them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid but cable-ready weekly TV movie. The wild thing regarding Influencers remains how much better it is compared to much of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses solo-traveling influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those murders (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends 2025's Influencers some early mystery, when returning writer-director the director picks up with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW remarks to her partner that someone ought to attempt leaving a device-obsessed influencer in a place without any devices to see if they can survive. Is this an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the special treatment given to one fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW's offenses, but still faces doubt over her version of what happened, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to juice his career as half of a conservative-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the curated images that normally capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, which seems especially custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, maybe the vast resources aren't needed. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful about finding beautiful places to visit, though they were presumably less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the movie appears to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even when numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise look so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can show off a big budget, however simply offering a kind of visual tour to viewers also feels deeply filmic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a story so rooted in the simultaneous surface-level allure and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature as much aerial pool footage. These individuals must believably inhabit these lush, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how frequently each person — including the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it can be gratifying to see CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he keyed into the loneliness Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other doofuses; he resists caricaturing the character further. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his true devotion to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The other side of this balanced approach is that it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without investigating them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers could offer devotees of the original expectations of an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than an wild-eyed, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places 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 the world itself is still here, at least for now.