This Horror Sequel <em>Influencers</em> Is Set to Give Other Streaming Suspense Films a Bad Case of FOMO

“Everything about this stinks of a cheap made-for-TV,” states a cynical commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest with an outlandish story he once said he trusted. Yet his description of what’s happening on screen isn’t wrong. On its face, a pair of streaming movies chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of social media stars and then murders them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a tawdry yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The wild thing about Influencers remains just how superior it proves to be than plenty of its competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It is precisely the thriller that should give other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she quietly chooses solo-traveling influencer targets, entices them to their deaths, and covers up those deaths (for a time) by taking control of their online accounts. The movie leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This lends 2025's Influencers a degree of ambiguity, when returning filmmaker the director resumes with CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip marking the couple’s first anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to her partner that a person should try stranding a device-obsessed influencer somewhere with no technology and see if they can make it. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment given to a single fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and International Chases

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. The story revisits Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, but still faces suspicion over her version of what happened, which includes the murder of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer duo alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in her role, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching outfits.) Although the follow-up's screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the original seemed more balanced between her and Madison — it still works as a tale of rival investigators, as Madison and CW both use fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and an apparently limitless travel fund to pursue and/or escape one another. Then again, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Influencers have a knack for gaining access to luxurious locales without paying much, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers seem similarly resourceful about finding stunning locations to visit, though they were presumably less nefarious about it. Most of the movie seems to be filmed in real places, giving it a real-world weight that remains even as numerous sequences involve a handful of actors of people staring at digital devices.

It’s the same principle that made the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent for decades: Indeed, explosive action and visual effects can show off a big budget, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a story so dependent on the coexisting superficial glamour and desperate hustle involved in producing envy-inducing online content.

All of the characters in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to unbelievably stylish contemporary villas; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature as much aerial pool footage. The characters must believably inhabit these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — even the woman wreaking vengeance upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

At the same time, the director has not crafted a rant targeting the vacuousness of the influencer industry. While it can be satisfying to see CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of identification lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively understanding of the key influencer figures. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison felt during ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, the director appears confident that just observing Jacob in action will reveal that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other gullible men; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even grants Jacob a measure of dignity through depicting his true devotion to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, but Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it can sometimes appear that he’s nodding at bits of modern online life without investigating them further. This is especially true of the way he brings AI into the story, 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 movie ultimately delivers that, with a suitably chaotic climax. However, initially, 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 may also be what keeps it from seeming like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with always-online creators, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but the world itself is still here, at least for now.