This Thriller Sequel <em>Influencers</em> Is Set to Give Other Digital Suspense Films Serious FOMO

“The entire situation stinks like a cheap TV movie,” states a cynical podcaster midway through the horror sequel Influencers. In the moment, his tone is dismissive in a calculated way of a guest with an outlandish story he previously claimed he believed. But his assessment of the events in the movie isn't inaccurate. Superficially, a pair of films on demand about a young woman who worms her way into the lives of social media stars before killing them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid but network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect regarding Influencers remains just how superior it is compared to much of its competition, regardless of screen size. It is precisely the thriller that should give other movies a bad case of FOMO.

Revisiting 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 covers up those deaths (at least temporarily) by taking control of their socials. The film concludes (spoiler ahead) with CW stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Thailand, after her most recent mark, Madison (Emily Tennant), reverses their roles against her.

This provides the 2025 Influencers a degree of mystery, as returning writer-director the director resumes with the character CW contentedly residing alongside her partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. During a trip to celebrate the couple’s one-year anniversary, UK-based influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and anger.

CW remarks to Diane that someone should try stranding a phone-addicted online personality somewhere without any devices and see if they can survive. Are we witnessing a backstory prequel? Did CW become extremist by seeing the special treatment given to a single clout-chaser?

Evolving Viewpoints 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, now cleared of carrying out CW's offenses, yet still encounters doubt regarding her version of the events, which includes the murder of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali attempting to boost his profile as half of a right-wing-influencer power couple alongside Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform is bro-heavy streams, as opposed to the Instagram photos that typically attract CW’s attention.

The actor continues to be immensely captivating in the part, a role that appears especially tailor-made for her talents. (She also designed CW's eye-catching wardrobe.) While the sequel’s screentime balance leans heavily into CW — the original seemed more balanced between the two women — it still works as a story of dueling amateur detectives, with both women both use fake accounts, Insta-stalking, and an apparently unlimited travel budget to pursue and/or escape each other. Then again, maybe the unlimited budget aren't needed. Online personalities possess a knack for gaining access to posh places at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors through her more blatant scamming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers seem similarly resourceful in locating stunning locations to visit, although they were presumably more legitimate in their methods. The vast majority of the movie appears to be filmed in real places, giving it an authentic gravity that lingers even when many scenes consist of a handful of actors of people looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic which allowed the James Bond movies look so consistently opulent over the years: Indeed, explosive action and special effects can display large spending, but simply offering a travelogue of sorts for the audience also seems inherently cinematic. This is especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind involved in producing jealousy-worthy online content.

Every character visiting Bali, similar to those staying in Thailand in the original, seem to have access to unbelievably stylish modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much aerial pool video. The characters must believably inhabit these lush, far-flung locations to emphasize the uneasy irony of how frequently each person — including the woman wreaking vengeance on the influencers’ self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time under the light of their devices.

Nuanced Portrayals and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, the director has not crafted a rant targeting the emptiness of the influencer industry. Though it is satisfying to watch CW manipulate different internet celebrities, and a sense reminiscent of Hitchcock of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is somewhat sympathetic to the key influencer figures. Previously, he tapped into the loneliness Madison felt while on supposedly envy-worthy vacations. In this film, Harder seems to trust that just observing Jacob at work will make it clear that he is selling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists turning into a caricature the character. He even gives Jacob a degree of respect through depicting his genuine loyalty to his girlfriend; he is two-faced, yet Ariana is a partner in his double standards, not a victim of it.

The flip side of this balanced approach means it may occasionally seem that he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without investigating them. This is particularly evident regarding how he introduces artificial intelligence into the story, an intriguing development that lacks the psychological edge it should have. The pluralized title for the film could offer fans of the first movie hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the movie does eventually provide that, with an appropriately wild final act. However, initially, it’s more like a polished Hitchcock thriller than an frenzied, tech-addled De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ heavy use of actual places might also be what keeps it from coming across like utter horror. Our society might be saturated with always-online creators, digital deception, and self-serving tourism, but reality itself is still here, for now.