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“Everything about this smells like a bad TV movie,” observes an opportunistic podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an outlandish story he previously said he trusted. Yet his description of what’s happening on screen isn’t wrong. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars and then murders them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The wild thing about Influencers is just how superior it is compared to much of the competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by seizing control of their online accounts. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking their one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to her partner that a person should try stranding a device-obsessed influencer somewhere with no technology and see whether they can make it. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment afforded a single fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of committing CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her version of what happened, including the killing of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to juice his career as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems particularly tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a tale of dueling investigators, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape one another. Of course, maybe the vast resources aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore posh places at little cost, an ability that CW echoes through her more blatant scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious about finding beautiful places to visit, though they were presumably less nefarious about it. The vast majority of the film appears to be shot on location, giving it an authentic gravity that lingers even when numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent over the years: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can show off a big budget, however just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems deeply filmic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a story so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy entry to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature as much overhead swimming-pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these lush, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how often everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, the director has not crafted a screed against the emptiness of online fame. Though it is satisfying to watch CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat sympathetic to the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt during supposedly 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 doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his true devotion to his partner; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear that he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without investigating them. This is especially true of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychological edge it should have. The pluralized title for the film might give fans of the first movie hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the film does eventually provide that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what prevents it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. Our society might be saturated with always-online creators, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but the world itself remains present, at least for now.