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

“Everything about this smells like a cheap made-for-TV,” states a cynical podcaster midway through the chilling follow-up Influencers. In the moment, he’s being dismissive in a calculated way toward an interviewee with an bizarre tale he once claimed he believed. Yet his description of the events on screen isn't inaccurate. On its face, a pair of films on demand chronicling a young woman who insinuates herself into the lives of online influencers and then murders them feels like the 21st-century equivalent of a lurid yet network-approved weekly TV movie. The surprising aspect about Influencers is how much better it is 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.

Revisiting the First Film and Setting the Stage

The 2022 film Influencer tracks the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) as she methodically selects traveling alone influencer targets, lures them to their deaths, and conceals those deaths (at least temporarily) 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), reverses their roles on her.

This provides 2025's Influencers some early ambiguity, when returning filmmaker the director picks up with the character CW contentedly residing with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar) in Paris. On a journey to celebrate their first anniversary, British influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) catches CW's attention and ire.

CW comments to Diane that a person ought to attempt stranding a phone-addicted influencer in a place without any devices to see whether they can survive. Is this an origin-story prequel? Did CW become extremist after witnessing the preferential treatment given to one fame-seeker?

Evolving Viewpoints and Global Pursuits

The narrative viewpoint changes multiple times, eventually clarifying those early scenes’ chronological position. Harder catches up with Madison, who has been exonerated for carrying out CW’s crimes, yet still encounters suspicion regarding her version of what happened, including the killing of her boyfriend. The film also follows Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), living in Bali and trying to boost his profile as part of a conservative-influencer duo with Ariana (Veronica Long), although his chosen platform involves masculine-focused livestreams, rather than the Instagram photos that typically 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 wardrobe.) While the sequel’s focus leans heavily into CW — the first film felt more equally divided between her and Madison — it still functions as a story of dueling amateur detectives, as Madison and CW both use fake accounts, social media surveillance, and an apparently limitless travel fund to chase and/or escape each other. Then again, perhaps the vast resources isn’t necessary. Influencers have a talent for gaining access to posh places at little cost, a skill which CW mirrors with her more overt scamming.

Resourceful Production and Visual Wanderlust

The filmmakers behind Influencers appear equally resourceful in locating stunning locations to film, though they were likely less nefarious about it. The vast majority of the film seems to be filmed in real places, providing it an authentic gravity that remains even as numerous sequences consist of a relatively small cast of people looking at digital devices.

It follows the same logic that made the James Bond movies appear so consistently opulent over the years: Yes, explosive action and special effects can show off large spending, but just providing a kind of visual tour for the audience also feels inherently cinematic. It’s also especially fitting for a narrative so rooted in the coexisting superficial glamour and try-hard grind of creating envy-inducing online content.

All of the characters visiting Bali, similar to those who were in Thailand in the first film, appear to enjoy access to impossibly chic modern bungalows; there are movies about lifeguards which don't feature this much aerial pool video. These individuals must believably occupy these luxurious, remote places to highlight the uncomfortable paradox of how frequently each person — including the woman exacting revenge upon the online stars' self-centered phoniness — nonetheless spends plenty of time under the light of their screens.

Balanced Depictions and Digital-Age Suspense

Simultaneously, Harder hasn’t authored a rant targeting the emptiness of online fame. Though it is gratifying to watch CW exploit various online personalities, and a Hitchcockian sense of alignment allows us to wish she doesn’t get caught, Harder is relatively sympathetic to the major influencer characters. In the first movie, he tapped into the isolation Madison felt while on ostensibly dream getaways. Here, the director appears confident that merely watching Jacob in action will reveal that he’s peddling snake-oil masculinity to other doofuses; he resists turning into a caricature the character. 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 flip side of Harder’s even-keeled presentation means it may occasionally seem that he is acknowledging elements of modern online life without deeply exploring them. This is particularly evident of the way he introduces artificial intelligence into the plot, a fascinating turn that lacks the psychological edge it deserves. The retitled sequel for the film could offer devotees of the original hope for a larger-scale escalation, and the movie ultimately delivers that, with an appropriately chaotic climax. But before that, it resembles more a sleek Hitchcock thriller than a wild-eyed, technology-obsessed De Palma-style shocker. Influencers’ extensive use of real-world locations may also be what prevents 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.