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“The entire situation stinks like a bad TV movie,” remarks an opportunistic commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand about a young woman who worms her way into the lives of online influencers before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a lurid yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers is just how superior it proves to be compared to much of the competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and conceals those murders (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early mystery, as returning filmmaker the director picks up with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW remarks to Diane that someone ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices to see if they can make it. Is this an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the preferential treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion over her recounting of the events, including the murder of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying 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 Instagram photos that normally capture CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems especially custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's striking outfits.) Although the sequel’s focus leans heavily into CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still works as a story of rival investigators, as Madison and CW both use fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue or evade each other. Then again, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a knack for getting to explore luxurious locales at little cost, a skill that CW echoes through her more blatant scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were likely less nefarious about it. Most of the film appears to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even as numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters staring at digital devices.

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 kind of visual tour to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle of creating envy-inducing digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, like those who were in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off as much overhead swimming-pool footage. The characters have to convincingly inhabit these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how frequently everyone — including the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nevertheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed against the vacuousness of online fame. Though it can be satisfying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt while on supposedly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he resists caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it may occasionally seem as if he’s nodding at elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychological edge it should have. The pluralized title of Influencers could offer devotees of the original expectations of an Aliens-style escalation, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with an appropriately wild final act. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places might also be what keeps it from seeming like pure nightmare fuel. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself remains present, at least for now.