‘Influencers’ Review – Lacks Heat, Blood, And Tension

It hardly comes as a surprise to see how horror movies have embraced and explored social media more in the last few years. We’re spending much more time in the online world than ever before, and therefore, social media has become a key plot point in many films, including Spree, Host, and Deadstream. Now, writer/director Kurtis David Harder (Influencer, Incontrol) adds another feature to this all-growing list with Influencers.

This sequel to 2022’s Influencer certainly starts with a murderous bang, setting up a strong premise for everything that follows. However, Harder doesn’t go as bonkers as he did in the previous film, which is the downfall of this feature. Once again, it’s the first act that’s the most compelling, wonderfully paced, and bloodiest. CW (Cassandra Naud), whose thirst for blood and murder still isn’t quenched, gains access to a content creator’s virtual life during her first anniversary holiday with girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar). It doesn’t take long before she starts stalking the egocentric yet innocent Charlotte (Georgina Campbell), both online and in person, with disastrous consequences to follow. During the relaxing holiday turned stalking escapade, Influencers provides the necessary suspense and unveils CW’s predatory nature for audiences who haven’t witnessed it the first time around.

It also once again allows Naud (Influencer, Small Fish) to deliver an excellent performance, especially since she and Harder explore CW’s motives even more. No matter how pushy or obnoxious the influencers are, this movie never praises CW’s killing or pushes you to take sides. Instead, it provides a much more balanced view of her perspectives, deep longing for connection, and her personality as a whole. While this in-depth exploration was missing from the first movie, it takes on a much more prominent role in this work.

Sadly, the rest of the movie doesn’t live up to its high expectations set in act one. CW is still feeling the aftermath of what happened in the first movie, while she also needs to escape from many sleuthing detectives. It’s shocking to see how easy it is to find out everything about someone’s life online. All their personal information, some of which can be very sensitive and incriminating, is in your hands with a single click. That’s something Madison (Emily Tennant) and manosphere streamer Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell) know like no other. The former is being stalked online and harassed in real life as her ordeal about what happened on the island in the previous film falls on deaf ears. Jacob soon becomes CW’s next victim as he tries to lure her out of the shadows via a video and his online platform filled with masculine toxicity.

Either a bigger focus on Madison or Jacob would have benefitted this movie immensely, especially if Tennant (Zoe.mp4, Valentines) had a chance to shine truly. Madison finding her way off the island and being blamed for CW’s murders is the perfect start for a modern revenge plot. She uses social media to gather the evidence to prove her innocence, while also pinpointing her enemy, which can undoubtedly lead to a thrilling chase. Madison certainly has much more to do in this feature than in the first one, which results in a significantly stronger narrative arc. However, that arc is pushed to the background almost entirely when CW has set her sights on Jacob. While these storylines could have been a solid foundation for a captivating cat-and-mouse murder game, Harder doesn’t fully explore or execute them, leaving this movie too clunky, with an inconsistent flow, not to mention the ridiculous climax.

It’s during that final act that the movie spirals out of control completely, and not in a good way. The cinematography has been beautiful up to that point – whether it’s the gorgeous landscape of France or the dark murder scenes – but it lacks the same beauty during the impromptu fight at the end. The movie becomes less convincing than ever as it’s clear that no one lands a punch. What starts as a grounded movie with a controlled narrative has now become a caricature of a social media horror movie

After all is said and the killings are done, Influencers turns out to be a remake of its predecessor. Harder adds much more emotion, as CW has found love, while the social commentary on the online world certainly makes for an interesting story. However, the movie lacks the overall heat, blood, and tension to become a mean, nail-biting sequel. If the filmmaker decides to turn this twosome into a trilogy, that movie needs to have much more guts, punch, and disturbing murders.

Influencers is now available to stream on Shudder.