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“The entire situation smells like a cheap made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic commentator midway through the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being manipulatively dismissive toward an interviewee whose outlandish story he once said he trusted. Yet his assessment of what’s happening on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the worlds of online influencers before killing them feels like a modern-day version of a tawdry yet cable-ready weekly TV movie. The wild thing about Influencers is just how superior it is than plenty of the competition, regardless of screen size. It’s the kind of thriller that should give other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting the Original and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by taking control of their online accounts. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables against her.

This provides 2025's Influencers a degree of mystery, as returning filmmaker the director resumes with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate their one-year anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW’s eye and ire.

CW comments to her partner that someone ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted influencer somewhere with no technology and see if they can survive. Is this a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment given to one fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those introductory moments' chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, now cleared of committing CW's offenses, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her version of the events, including the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be terrifically magnetic in the part, a role that appears especially custom-fit to her strengths. (She also designed CW's eye-catching outfits.) While the sequel’s focus tips heavily toward CW — the first film seemed more balanced between the two women — it still functions as a tale of dueling amateur detectives, with both women both use fabricated profiles, social media surveillance, and a seemingly limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape each other. Of course, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally ingenious in locating beautiful places to visit, although they were likely more legitimate in their methods. The vast majority of the movie appears to be shot on location, giving it an authentic gravity that remains even as numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of characters looking at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish for decades: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can show off large spending, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts to viewers also feels deeply filmic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so rooted in the simultaneous surface-level allure and desperate hustle involved in producing jealousy-worthy digital content.

All of the characters in Bali, like those staying in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy access to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards that don’t show off as much aerial pool video. These individuals must believably inhabit these lush, far-flung locations to highlight the uneasy irony of how frequently everyone — even the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ narcissistic falseness — nonetheless spends plenty of time in the glow of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

At the same time, Harder hasn’t authored a rant against the vacuousness of online fame. While it can be satisfying to watch CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat understanding of the major influencer characters. Previously, he tapped into the isolation Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, Harder seems to trust that merely watching Jacob at work will reveal that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he resists caricaturing the character. He even gives Jacob a measure of dignity by showing his genuine loyalty to his partner; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his hypocrisy, not someone exploited of it.

The other side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear as if he is acknowledging bits of modern online life without investigating them. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the plot, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it should have. The retitled sequel of Influencers might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the movie ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately wild final act. But before that, it’s more like a sleek Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, technology-obsessed Brian De Palma thriller. Influencers’ heavy use of real-world locations might also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but the world itself remains present, for now.