This Horror Follow-Up <em>Influencers</em> Is Set to Give Competing Streaming Thrillers Serious FOMO

“Everything about this reeks like a cheap made-for-TV,” states an opportunistic commentator during the horror sequel Influencers. At that point, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way of a guest whose outlandish story he once claimed he believed. But his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, two streaming movies chronicling a woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid yet cable-ready weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is how much better it is compared to much of the competition, regardless of where you watch it. It’s the kind of thriller capable of giving its peers a serious bout of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) while she quietly chooses traveling alone social media targets, entices them to their doom, and covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by seizing control of their socials. The film leaves off (spoiler ahead) with CW marooned on an uninhabited island near the coast of Thailand, following her latest target, Madison (Emily Tennant), turns the tables on her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers a degree of ambiguity, as returning writer-director the director picks up with CW happily living alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) draws CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to Diane that a person should try leaving a device-obsessed online personality in a place without any devices to see whether they can make it. Are we witnessing an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the preferential treatment given to a single fame-seeker?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those introductory moments' place in the timeline. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been cleared of carrying out CW’s crimes, but still faces doubt over her version of the events, including the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to juice his career as half of a conservative-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), though his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the Instagram photos that normally capture CW's interest.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in her role, a role that appears particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) While the sequel’s screentime balance tips heavily toward CW — the first film felt more equally divided between the two women — it still works as a story of rival amateur detectives, as Madison and CW employ fabricated profiles, Insta-stalking, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to chase and/or escape one another. Of course, maybe the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for getting to explore posh places without paying much, an ability that CW echoes through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The creative team for Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, though they were likely more legitimate in their methods. Most of the film appears to be filmed in real places, providing it a real-world weight that remains even as many scenes involve a handful of actors of people staring at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the James Bond movies look so persistently lavish for decades: Yes, big action and visual effects can display a big budget, but just providing a kind of visual tour for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. This is particularly appropriate for a story so rooted in the simultaneous superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing envy-inducing online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have entry to impossibly chic modern bungalows; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature this much aerial pool video. These individuals must believably occupy these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how often everyone — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless devotes much time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a screed targeting the vacuousness of the influencer industry. While it can be satisfying to see CW exploit various online personalities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment lets us to hope she doesn’t get caught, the filmmaker is somewhat understanding of the key influencer figures. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison experienced while on ostensibly envy-worthy vacations. Here, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids turning into a caricature the character further. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect by showing his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, yet Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The other side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem as if he is acknowledging bits of contemporary digital culture without investigating them further. This is especially true regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn which misses the psychosexual kick it should have. The pluralized title for the film might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale ante-upping, and the film ultimately delivers exactly that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it’s more like a polished Alfred Hitchcock movie than a wild-eyed, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what prevents it from seeming like utter horror. The world might be saturated with content-churning influencers, online fraud, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, at least for now.