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“The entire situation stinks of a bad made-for-TV,” remarks an opportunistic podcaster during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn’t wrong. Superficially, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a 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 cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing regarding Influencers is just how superior it proves to be compared to much of its competition, regardless of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their socials. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early mystery, as returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate their one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW remarks to Diane that a person ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices to see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment afforded a single fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion over her recounting of the events, including the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to juice his career as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform 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 particularly tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to chase or evade each other. Then again, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a knack for gaining access to posh places without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly ingenious in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were presumably more legitimate in their methods. Most of the movie appears to be shot on location, providing it a real-world weight that remains even when numerous sequences involve a handful of actors of characters staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise appear so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off large spending, but simply offering a kind of visual tour for the audience also seems deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so dependent on the coexisting surface-level allure and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much overhead swimming-pool video. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these luxurious, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how often everyone — including the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, the director has not crafted a rant against the vacuousness of online fame. Though it can be satisfying to see CW exploit various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment lets us to wish she evades capture, the filmmaker is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced while on supposedly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his true devotion to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear as if he’s nodding at elements of modern online life without deeply exploring them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the story, an intriguing development that lacks the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film could offer devotees of the original hope for a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it resembles more a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. The world might be saturated with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself remains present, at least for now.