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“Everything about this stinks of a cheap TV movie,” states a cynical commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. Yet his assessment of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers remains just how superior it is than plenty of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects traveling alone social media targets, lures them to their deaths, and conceals those murders (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers a degree of ambiguity, as returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and anger.

CW comments to her partner that someone ought to attempt leaving a phone-addicted online personality in a place with no technology and see whether they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for committing CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion over her recounting of what happened, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the curated images that typically capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in her role, a role that appears particularly tailor-made for her talents. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) While the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the first film felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of rival investigators, as Madison and CW both use fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade one another. Then again, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for gaining access to posh places without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were likely more legitimate in their methods. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even as numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of people staring at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle which allowed the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish for decades: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can show off large spending, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous surface-level allure and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

Every character in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards which don't feature as much aerial pool footage. These individuals have to convincingly inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed against the vacuousness of the influencer industry. While it is satisfying to see CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment lets us to wish she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat sympathetic to the key influencer figures. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison experienced during supposedly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will reveal that he is selling false masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids caricaturing the character further. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim by 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 further. This is especially true of the way he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The pluralized title for the film might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale ante-upping, and the film ultimately delivers that, with a suitably wild final act. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a frenzied, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations might also be what keeps it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but reality itself is still here, for now.