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“This whole affair stinks like a bad made-for-TV,” states a cynical podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest whose bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. But his description of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand about a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars and then murders them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers is how much better it is than plenty of the competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those murders (at least temporarily) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning writer-director the director picks up with CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and anger.

CW remarks to Diane that a person should try stranding a device-obsessed influencer in a place with no technology and see whether they can make it. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the preferential treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters doubt over her recounting of what happened, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali and trying to juice his career as part of a conservative-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically attract CW's interest.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in the part, a role that appears particularly tailor-made for her talents. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) While the follow-up's screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still works as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently limitless travel fund to chase or evade each other. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to posh places without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious about finding beautiful places to film, although they were likely more legitimate about it. Most of the film seems to be shot on location, giving it a real-world weight that remains even when numerous sequences involve a handful of actors of characters staring at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent for decades: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can display large spending, however just providing a kind of visual tour to viewers also seems deeply filmic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to impossibly chic contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off this much aerial pool video. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these luxurious, remote places to highlight the uneasy irony of how frequently everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the vacuousness of online fame. While it is gratifying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison felt during supposedly envy-worthy vacations. 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 resists turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his true devotion to his partner; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach is that it can sometimes appear that he’s nodding at elements of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the plot, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers might give devotees of the original hope for an Aliens-style ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with an appropriately wild final act. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself is still here, for now.