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“This whole affair reeks of a cheap made-for-TV,” observes 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 said he trusted. But his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand about a woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars and then murders them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid but cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains just how superior it is than plenty of the competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film capable of giving other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their deaths, and conceals those murders (for a time) by seizing control of their socials. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to Diane that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the preferential treatment afforded one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now exonerated for committing CW’s crimes, yet still encounters suspicion over her version of the events, including the murder of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to juice his career as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform 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, which seems particularly custom-fit to her strengths. (She even created CW's eye-catching outfits.) Although the follow-up's focus leans heavily into CW — the original felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still functions as a story of dueling investigators, with both women employ fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase or evade one another. Of course, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating beautiful places to film, though they were likely more legitimate about it. Most of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that remains even when many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic which allowed the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish over the years: Indeed, big action and visual effects can show off large spending, however simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy entry to impossibly chic contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals must believably inhabit these luxurious, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time in the glow of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the vacuousness of the influencer industry. Though it can be gratifying to watch CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the isolation Madison experienced while on supposedly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his genuine loyalty to his partner; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem as if he’s nodding at elements of modern online life without investigating them further. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the story, an intriguing development which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film could offer devotees of the original hope for a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a frenzied, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself is still here, for now.