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“The entire situation smells of a cheap made-for-TV,” observes an opportunistic commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an bizarre tale he previously said he trusted. But his assessment of the events in the movie isn’t wrong. Superficially, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a young 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 Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers is how much better it is than plenty of its competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses traveling alone social media targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, as returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to her partner that someone ought to attempt leaving a phone-addicted online personality in a place without any devices and see if they can survive. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the special treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW’s crimes, yet still encounters doubt over her version of what happened, including the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically capture CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems especially tailor-made for her talents. (She also designed 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 functions as a tale of dueling investigators, with both women both use fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade each other. Then again, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for getting to explore luxurious locales at little cost, a skill that CW echoes with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to film, although they were likely less nefarious about it. The vast majority of the movie appears to be shot on location, giving it a real-world weight that remains even as many scenes involve a relatively small cast of people staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle which allowed the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off large spending, however simply offering a kind of visual tour for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a story so dependent on the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards that don’t show off as much aerial pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often each person — including the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nevertheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a screed targeting the emptiness of online fame. While it can be satisfying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to wish she evades capture, Harder is somewhat sympathetic to the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced during supposedly dream getaways. In this film, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he resists caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear that he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film could offer fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie does eventually provide that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than a frenzied, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations might also be what prevents it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. The world may be overrun with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.