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“Everything about this smells like a bad made-for-TV,” observes an opportunistic podcaster during the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose outlandish story he once claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid but network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is how much better it proves to be compared to much of the competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer follows the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses traveling alone social media targets, entices them to their deaths, and covers up those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends 2025's Influencers some early mystery, when 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 first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW’s eye and ire.

CW comments to her partner that a person ought to attempt leaving a phone-addicted influencer somewhere without any devices to see whether they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the preferential treatment given to one fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion over her recounting of the events, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting 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 normally capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains immensely captivating in her role, which seems especially custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) While the sequel’s screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the original felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still functions as a story of rival investigators, with both women employ fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for getting to explore posh places without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating beautiful places to film, though they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film seems to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even as many scenes consist of a handful of actors of characters staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish over the years: Yes, big action and visual effects can display a big budget, however simply offering a kind of visual tour to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, seem to have entry to impossibly chic contemporary villas; there are movies concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much aerial pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how often each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless 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 screed targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it is gratifying to see CW exploit various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification lets us to wish she evades capture, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison felt during ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other doofuses; he resists caricaturing the character further. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his true devotion to his partner; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not a victim by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear as if he’s nodding at elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel of Influencers might give fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the film ultimately delivers exactly that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a frenzied, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places might also be what keeps it from seeming like utter horror. The world may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.