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“The entire situation reeks like a cheap TV movie,” states an opportunistic commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. But his description of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand about a woman who worms her way into the lives of online influencers and then murders them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry but cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers is just how superior it proves to be than plenty of its competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of thriller capable of giving other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the Original and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects traveling alone social media targets, lures them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This lends 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder resumes with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW comments to her partner that someone ought to attempt stranding a device-obsessed influencer in a place without any devices to see whether they can survive. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment given to one clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW's offenses, but still faces doubt over her version of the events, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the curated images that normally attract CW's interest.

Naud remains immensely captivating in her role, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) While the follow-up's focus tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of rival amateur detectives, with both women both use fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to pursue or evade each other. Of course, maybe the unlimited budget isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to film, although they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the film appears to be filmed in real places, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even when numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters looking at computer or phone screens.

It’s the same principle that made the Bond franchise look so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, explosive action and special effects can display a big budget, but just providing a travelogue of sorts for the audience also feels deeply filmic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing digital content.

Every character in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers that don’t show off as much aerial pool video. These individuals have to convincingly occupy these lush, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — even the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' narcissistic falseness — nonetheless spends plenty of time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a rant targeting the vacuousness of the influencer industry. Though it is gratifying to see CW manipulate various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment lets us to hope she evades capture, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced while on ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob in action will reveal that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his genuine loyalty to his partner; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not someone exploited by it.

The other side of this balanced approach is that it may occasionally seem as if he’s nodding at elements of contemporary digital culture without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The pluralized title of Influencers could offer fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale ante-upping, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. 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 always-online creators, online fraud, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, for now.