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“Everything about this reeks like a cheap made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee 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, a pair of films on demand about a woman who worms her way into the worlds of social media stars before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing regarding Influencers remains just how superior it proves to be compared to much of the competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early ambiguity, when returning filmmaker the director resumes with CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to Diane that a person should try leaving a phone-addicted influencer in a place with no technology and see if they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now exonerated for committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her recounting of the events, including 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 duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the curated images that typically attract CW's interest.

Naud remains immensely captivating in the part, a role that appears particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's striking wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's focus leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to chase and/or escape each other. Of course, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore posh places at little cost, a skill that CW echoes through her more blatant scheming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, although they were presumably less nefarious about it. Most of the movie appears to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that lingers even as many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of people looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish for decades: Yes, big action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems deeply filmic. This is especially fitting for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and desperate hustle of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; films exist concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off this much aerial pool footage. The characters must believably inhabit these lush, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a rant targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it can be gratifying to watch CW exploit various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to wish she evades capture, the filmmaker is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he keyed into the isolation Madison experienced during ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his true devotion to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it may occasionally seem that he’s nodding at bits of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them. This is especially true of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel of Influencers might give fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the film ultimately delivers that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a polished Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what prevents it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.