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“The entire situation reeks like a bad made-for-TV,” remarks an opportunistic podcaster during the chilling follow-up Influencers. At that point, he’s being manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose outlandish story he previously said he trusted. But his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid but network-approved Movie of the Week. The wild thing about Influencers is just how superior it proves to be than plenty of the competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller that should give its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Establishing the Scene

2022’s Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those deaths (for a time) by seizing control of their online accounts. 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 on her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers some early mystery, when returning filmmaker the director resumes with the character CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey marking the couple’s first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to Diane that someone should try leaving a phone-addicted online personality in a place with no technology to see if they can survive. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the special treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her version of the events, including the murder of her boyfriend. The film also follows 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 chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the curated images that typically attract CW’s attention.

Naud remains immensely captivating in the part, which seems especially tailor-made to her strengths. (She even created CW's striking outfits.) Although the follow-up's focus leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between the two women — it still works as a tale of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to posh places at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Ingenious Filmmaking and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, though they were presumably more legitimate about it. The vast majority of the film seems to be shot on location, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even when numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters looking at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish for decades: Yes, big action and visual effects can display a big budget, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so dependent on the coexisting surface-level allure and try-hard grind of creating jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much aerial pool video. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, far-flung locations to highlight the uneasy irony of how often each person — even the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' narcissistic falseness — 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 against the emptiness of the influencer industry. While it is satisfying to see CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a Hitchcockian sense of identification allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison experienced while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident 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. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect by showing his true devotion to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging elements of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is particularly evident of the way he brings AI into the plot, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel of Influencers could offer fans of the first movie expectations of an Aliens-style escalation, and the film does eventually provide exactly that, with a suitably wild final act. However, initially, it resembles more a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, tech-addled Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ extensive use of actual places may also be what keeps it from seeming like utter horror. The world might be saturated with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.