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“The entire situation reeks like a cheap made-for-TV,” remarks a cynical commentator during the chilling follow-up Influencers. At that point, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest whose outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. But his description of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers and then murders them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid 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 where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film capable of giving other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their deaths, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning writer-director the director picks up with the character CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to Diane that someone should try leaving a device-obsessed influencer in a place with no technology to see whether they can make it. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces suspicion regarding her version of the events, including the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically attract CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in her role, a role that appears especially tailor-made for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s focus leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape one another. Then again, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, an ability that CW echoes through her more blatant scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the movie seems to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even when numerous sequences involve a relatively small cast of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise look so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off large spending, however just providing a kind of visual tour to viewers also seems inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy entry to impossibly chic contemporary villas; films exist about lifeguards which don't feature this much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these lush, far-flung locations to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant targeting the vacuousness of online fame. Though it can be satisfying to watch CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison experienced while on ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other doofuses; he resists turning into a caricature the character. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his true devotion to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem that he’s nodding at bits of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them. This is especially true regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The pluralized title of Influencers could offer fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the film ultimately delivers that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a polished Hitchcock thriller than a frenzied, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations may also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. The world might be saturated with always-online creators, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.