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“This whole affair stinks of a bad made-for-TV,” remarks an opportunistic podcaster midway through the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose outlandish story he once claimed he believed. Yet his assessment of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers and then murders them feels like a modern-day version of a tawdry but network-approved Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers is just how superior it proves to be compared to much of the competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller capable of giving other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Setting the Stage

2022’s Influencer follows the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by seizing control of their socials. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early ambiguity, as returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking their first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and anger.

CW remarks to her partner that someone should try leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices to see if they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' chronological position. The story revisits Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters doubt over her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the curated images that typically attract CW's interest.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in the part, a role that appears especially custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching outfits.) Although the follow-up's focus leans heavily into CW — the first film felt more equally divided between the two women — it still works as a tale of rival investigators, with both women both use fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase or evade one another. Then again, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore posh places at little cost, an ability that CW echoes through her more blatant scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to film, although they were likely less nefarious in their methods. The vast majority of the movie seems to be shot on location, providing it a real-world weight that remains even as numerous sequences involve a handful of actors of characters staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle which allowed the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, explosive action and special effects can show off large spending, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off this much overhead swimming-pool footage. The characters must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, the director has not crafted a rant targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it is satisfying to see CW manipulate various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids turning into a caricature the character. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim by it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation is that it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, a fascinating turn which misses the psychological edge it deserves. The pluralized title for the film could offer devotees of the original expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the film ultimately delivers that, with a suitably chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than an wild-eyed, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations may also be what keeps it from coming across like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself remains present, for now.