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“Everything about this reeks like a bad TV movie,” observes a cynical commentator during the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest with an outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. Yet his description of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, two films on demand chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of social media stars before killing them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet cable-ready Movie of the Week. The surprising aspect about Influencers remains how much better it is compared to much of the competition, irrespective of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, entices them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

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

CW comments to Diane that someone ought to attempt leaving a device-obsessed online personality somewhere with no technology to see if they can make it. Is this a backstory prequel? Was CW radicalized after witnessing the preferential treatment afforded one fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective changes multiple times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces suspicion regarding her version of the events, including 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), though his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the curated images that typically capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, which seems especially tailor-made to her strengths. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) Although the sequel’s screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the original felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still functions as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, with both women employ fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape one another. Of course, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack 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 filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful about finding stunning locations to film, though they were likely more legitimate in their methods. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that lingers even when many scenes consist of a relatively small cast of people staring at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic that made the Bond franchise appear so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but just providing a kind of visual tour for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a narrative so dependent on the coexisting surface-level allure and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

Every character visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist about lifeguards that don’t show off this much overhead swimming-pool footage. The characters have to convincingly occupy these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nevertheless devotes much time under the light of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a rant targeting the vacuousness of the influencer industry. While it can be gratifying to watch CW manipulate various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to hope she evades capture, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he keyed into the isolation Madison experienced during supposedly envy-worthy vacations. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil 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 is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, 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 investigating them further. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the plot, an intriguing development that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel for the film might give fans of the first movie expectations of an Aliens-style escalation, and the movie does eventually provide 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’ heavy use of actual places might also be what prevents it from coming across like pure nightmare fuel. Our society might be saturated with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but the world itself is still here, at least for now.