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“The entire situation reeks like a bad made-for-TV,” remarks an opportunistic podcaster during the chilling follow-up Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an outlandish story he previously said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of social media stars before killing them feels like a modern-day version of a tawdry but network-approved Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers remains just how superior it proves to be compared to much of the competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW’s eye and anger.

CW remarks to her partner that a person ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted influencer somewhere without any devices and see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment given to one fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her version of what happened, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the curated images that normally attract CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in her role, a role that appears especially tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's striking wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a story of rival investigators, with both women both use fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade one another. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a talent for gaining access to luxurious locales without paying much, a skill that CW echoes through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, though they were likely more legitimate about it. Most of the film seems to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even when many scenes involve a handful of actors of people staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise look so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, explosive action and special effects can display large spending, but just providing a kind of visual tour for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing envy-inducing digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, similar to 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 footage. The characters must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — including the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant targeting the emptiness of online fame. Though it can be gratifying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, 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. In the first movie, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced while on supposedly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without investigating them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the plot, an intriguing development which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film could offer fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the film does eventually provide that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than an frenzied, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations may also be what keeps it from coming across like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but the world itself is still here, for now.