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“This whole affair stinks of a bad made-for-TV,” states a cynical commentator midway through the chilling follow-up Influencers. At that point, his tone is manipulatively dismissive of a guest with an bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. Yet his assessment of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand about a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers before killing them seems like a modern-day version of a tawdry but cable-ready weekly TV movie. The wild thing regarding Influencers is just how superior it is compared to much of the competition, regardless of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller that should give other movies a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

The 2022 film Influencer follows the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their socials. The movie concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This lends the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, when returning filmmaker Kurtis David Harder picks up with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and anger.

CW remarks to her partner that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place with no technology and see if they can make it. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and International Chases

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her recounting of the events, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the curated images that typically capture CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, a role that appears especially tailor-made to her strengths. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) While the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a tale of dueling investigators, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape each other. Of course, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to luxurious locales at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers appear equally ingenious about finding beautiful places to film, although they were presumably more legitimate about it. The vast majority of the film seems to be shot on location, giving it a real-world weight that lingers even as numerous sequences involve a handful of actors of characters staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise look so consistently opulent for decades: Yes, explosive action and special effects can show off a big budget, however just providing a travelogue of sorts to viewers also seems deeply filmic. This is particularly appropriate for a narrative so dependent on the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much overhead swimming-pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uneasy irony of how frequently everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless spends plenty of 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. While it can be satisfying to watch CW exploit different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he keyed into the isolation Madison felt during ostensibly dream getaways. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob in action will make it clear that he’s peddling false masculinity to other gullible men; he resists caricaturing the character. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his true devotion to his partner; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not someone exploited by it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear that he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel of Influencers could offer devotees of the original expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the movie does eventually provide exactly that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, it resembles more a polished Hitchcock thriller than an wild-eyed, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. The world may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, at least for now.