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“The entire situation reeks of a cheap TV movie,” remarks an opportunistic podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose outlandish story he once said he trusted. Yet his assessment of the events in the movie isn’t wrong. On its face, two films on demand about a young woman who insinuates herself into the worlds of social media stars before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid but cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers is how much better it proves to be than plenty of its competition, irrespective of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film capable of giving other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by seizing control of their online accounts. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This lends 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, as returning writer-director the director resumes with CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW comments to Diane that a person ought to attempt leaving a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices to see whether they can make it. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of committing CW's offenses, but still faces doubt regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the curated images that typically capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in her role, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a story of dueling amateur detectives, with both women both use fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to chase and/or escape one another. Then again, perhaps the vast resources aren't needed. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, a skill that CW echoes with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious about finding stunning locations to visit, though they were likely more legitimate about it. The vast majority of the movie seems to be shot on location, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even as many scenes involve a handful of actors of people looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise appear so persistently lavish over the years: Yes, big action and visual effects can display large spending, but just providing a travelogue of sorts for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy access to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much aerial pool video. The characters have to convincingly inhabit these lush, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how often each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' narcissistic falseness — nevertheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it is satisfying to watch CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced during ostensibly 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 resists turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his true devotion to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not someone exploited by it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it can sometimes appear that he’s nodding at elements of modern online life without investigating them further. This is particularly evident of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, an intriguing development that lacks the psychological edge it should have. The retitled sequel for the film could offer fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the film does eventually provide that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations might also be what prevents it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society might be saturated with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but the world itself is still here, for now.