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

“Everything about this smells of a cheap TV movie,” remarks an opportunistic commentator midway through the chilling follow-up Influencers. At that point, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee whose bizarre tale he previously claimed he believed. But his description of what’s happening in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, two streaming movies chronicling a young woman who worms her way into the worlds of online influencers and then murders them seems like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid but network-approved Movie of the Week. The wild thing regarding Influencers remains just how superior it proves to be than plenty of the competition, irrespective of where you watch it. It’s the kind of suspense film that should give its peers a bad case of FOMO.

Recapping the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects solo-traveling social media targets, lures them to their doom, and conceals those murders (for a time) by seizing control of their socials. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island near the coast of Thailand, following her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early mystery, when returning writer-director Kurtis David Harder picks up with the character CW happily living 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 Diane that a person ought to attempt leaving a device-obsessed influencer in a place with no technology to see if they can survive. Is this an origin-story prequel? Was CW radicalized by seeing the preferential treatment afforded a single clout-chaser?

Shifting Perspectives and Global Pursuits

The story’s perspective shifts several more times, ultimately revealing those early scenes’ place in the timeline. The story revisits Madison, now exonerated for carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters doubt over her recounting of the events, which includes the killing of Madison’s boyfriend. We also follow Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), based in Bali attempting to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his preferred medium involves masculine-focused livestreams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that normally capture CW’s attention.

Naud remains terrifically magnetic in her role, which seems particularly custom-fit for her talents. (She even created CW's eye-catching 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 story of dueling investigators, as Madison and CW employ fake accounts, social media surveillance, and a seemingly unlimited travel budget to chase or evade one another. Then again, perhaps the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a talent for getting to explore luxurious locales without paying much, an ability which CW mirrors with her more overt scheming.

Resourceful Production and Cinematic Travelogue

The creative team for Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, although they were presumably more legitimate 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 relatively small cast of people looking at computer or phone screens.

It follows the same logic which allowed the Bond franchise look so persistently lavish over the years: Yes, big action and special effects can show off a big budget, however simply offering a kind of visual tour for the audience also feels deeply filmic. It’s also particularly appropriate for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting surface-level allure and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

Every character in Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the first film, seem to have entry to impossibly chic contemporary villas; films exist concerning beach rescuers which don't feature as much overhead swimming-pool footage. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to emphasize the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently everyone — including the woman exacting revenge on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nevertheless devotes much time under the light of their devices.

Balanced Depictions and Tech-Savvy Tension

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a screed targeting the vacuousness of the influencer industry. Though it can be gratifying to watch CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to hope she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the key influencer figures. Previously, he keyed into the loneliness Madison experienced while on supposedly dream getaways. In this film, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob in action will make it clear that he is selling false masculinity to other doofuses; he avoids caricaturing the character. He even grants Jacob a degree of respect by showing his true devotion to his girlfriend; he’s a hypocrite, but Ariana is a collaborator in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it can sometimes appear as if he’s nodding at bits of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident regarding how he brings AI into the story, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychosexual kick it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film might give fans of the first movie expectations of a larger-scale escalation, and the film does eventually provide exactly that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it resembles more a polished Hitchcock thriller than a wild-eyed, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places may also be what prevents it from coming across like utter horror. Our society may be overrun with content-churning influencers, digital deception, and exploitative travel, but reality itself remains present, for now.