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“Everything about this smells like a bad made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose bizarre tale he once said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand about a woman who worms her way into the worlds of social media stars and then murders them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid yet network-approved Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers remains just how superior it is than plenty of the competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their deaths, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their online accounts. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, when returning writer-director the director resumes with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate their one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to Diane that a person ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted online personality in a place without any devices and see whether they can make it. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, now cleared of carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her version of the events, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though 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, which seems especially tailor-made for her talents. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) Although the follow-up's screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the first film felt more equally divided between the two women — it still functions as a story of rival investigators, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for gaining access to luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers seem similarly ingenious about finding stunning locations to film, though they were presumably less nefarious about it. The vast majority of the film seems to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even when numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of people staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the Bond franchise appear so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can show off large spending, however simply offering a kind of visual tour to viewers also feels deeply filmic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing envy-inducing digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy access to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards that don’t show off this much overhead swimming-pool video. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

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 Hitchcockian sense of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem that he’s nodding at bits of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the story, an intriguing development which misses the psychosexual kick it deserves. 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 exactly that, with a suitably wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than an wild-eyed, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself remains present, at least for now.