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“The entire situation stinks of a cheap TV movie,” remarks an opportunistic podcaster during the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, he’s being manipulatively dismissive of a guest whose outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand about a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of social media stars and then murders them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers remains how much better it is compared to much of its competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the suspense film that should give its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those murders (for a time) by seizing control of their socials. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder resumes with the character CW happily living with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and ire.

CW remarks to her partner that a person should try leaving a phone-addicted online personality somewhere without any devices to see whether they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of committing CW's offenses, but still faces doubt regarding her recounting of the events, including the killing of her boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a conservative-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, rather than the Instagram photos that normally attract CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems especially tailor-made for her talents. (She also designed CW's striking wardrobe.) Although the follow-up's screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still functions as a story of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape one another. Of course, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to luxurious locales at little cost, 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 film, although they were presumably less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be shot on location, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even when many scenes involve a relatively small cast of characters looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, explosive action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but just providing a kind of visual tour to viewers also feels deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing online content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the original, appear to enjoy entry to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature as much aerial pool video. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often each person — including the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nevertheless spends plenty of time under the light of their screens.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a rant targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it is satisfying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment lets us to hope she evades capture, Harder is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt during ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob in action will reveal that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists caricaturing the character further. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his true devotion to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem that he’s nodding at elements of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychological edge it deserves. The pluralized title of Influencers might give devotees of the original hope for an Aliens-style escalation, and the movie does eventually provide that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. However, initially, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a frenzied, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations might also be what keeps it from coming across like utter horror. The world might be saturated with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself remains present, for now.