Horror films about influencers have proliferated in the last decade, spilling over into fictional worlds as our online spaces become infested with grifters, wannabe wellness coaches and those just out for a freebie. What Kurtis David Harder’s 2022 psychological horror Influencer asked was: does it matter how many followers you have if no-one notices when you disappear?
After being stranded on a desert island at the end of the last film, CW (Cassandra Naud) is back, and now settled down. Having taken up with Diane (Lisa Delamar), CW is loved-up and has put her murderous ways behind her. However, a chance encounter with influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) reignites the fire, and CW is set down a path which puts her on a collision course with old foe Madison (Emily Tennant). Determined to make CW face justice for what she did in Thailand, Madison is on her tail… even if it takes her all the way to picturesque Bali, Indonesia.
Harder’s sequel offers more from the same formula – more gore, more startling twists, more influencers. Swapping Thailand for Indonesia, it’s even more beautifully shot than the first film (itself no slouch), taking advantage of idyllic influencer vacation homes, wild parties and lush ocean view backdrops. With viewers (and Madison) onto CW’s game, Harder ups the ante, turning Influencers into a game of cat-and-mouse, with controversial male influencer Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell) and his girlfriend Ariana (Veronica Long) as collateral. Between its brutal takedown of Andrew Tate types and the increased violence (which includes the best fight scene of the year), it’s a more savage film than its predecessor. If Influencer was The Talented Mr. Ripley for the digital age, then Influencers is its American Psycho.
As CW, Naud is mesmerising, evoking sympathy, despicability and unknowability across the same performance, sealing CW’s position as one of the most complex villains of the past decade, and the best female horror character since The Descent‘s Juno. It helps that her victims are largely terrible, and it’s a delight to watch the doofus male influencer suffer. Harder’s character assassination of Jacob is more scathing than anything even CW can muster though, and another area where the sequel’s funnier, sharper script sings. It even has the self-awareness to make a “like the TV network?” joke in regards to CW, which is appreciated.
Influencers is a superior sequel in almost every way, repurposing everything which worked about the previous film while doubling down on the horror and thriller elements. It’s perhaps less psychologically resonant than its predecessor, but finds a renewed vibrancy in its attempts to stay relevant.
INFLUENCERS premiered at UK FrightFest on August 25, 2025.
