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“Everything about this reeks like a bad made-for-TV,” remarks a cynical commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee whose bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand about a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars before killing them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The wild thing regarding Influencers remains just how superior it is than plenty of its competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning writer-director the director resumes with the character CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW remarks to Diane that a person ought to attempt leaving a device-obsessed influencer in a place with no technology and see whether they can make it. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the preferential treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt regarding her recounting of the events, including the murder of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to juice his career as part of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that normally attract CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, a role that appears especially custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film felt more equally divided between the two women — it still works as a tale of rival investigators, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and an apparently limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape one another. Of course, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for gaining access to posh places at little cost, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious about finding beautiful places to visit, though they were likely more legitimate in their methods. Most of the movie appears to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even as many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of characters staring at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle which allowed the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, big action and special effects can show off large spending, however just providing a travelogue of sorts for the audience also feels deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so dependent on the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards that don’t show off as much overhead swimming-pool video. These individuals must believably occupy these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how frequently everyone — even the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed against the emptiness of online fame. Though it can be satisfying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced during supposedly dream getaways. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character further. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his partner; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his hypocrisy, not a victim by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach is that it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without investigating them further. This is particularly evident of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The pluralized title for the film might give fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the film does eventually provide exactly that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it resembles more a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations might also be what prevents it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. The world may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, at least for now.