The last decade has seen a rise in horror films skewering the world of online fame – as influencers and content creators become a more common job, with films also looking to take “those guys” down a notch. Kurtis David Harder’s 2022 “Influencer” was one of the best films for exploring the landscape, with the story of a parasocial killer coming across an influencer on a backpacking trip from Hell becoming a surprise hit for Shudder. Now, three years later, Harder is back with “Influencers,” a sequel with sharper claws that nails what people loved so much about the first. Above all, audiences loved Cassandra Naud’s villainous CW character and wanted to see her continue to destroy those who dared to cross her. Together, they craft a sequel that mixes familiar beats with wild new twists, creating a sequel that transforms the original horror story into a rare sequel that improves on what came before it.
From the outset, the “Influencers” point out his nastiest ambitions. A beautiful young woman commits suicide in an opulent villa after receiving devastating news, but viewers of the first film should already know that things are probably not what they seem. If this is the CW’s return, there’s no way she wasn’t involved in this woman’s death. Of course, Harder will continue to examine themes of identity, vanity and digital toxicity – but there’s no need to delay the bloodshed. After CW and his photographer partner Diane (Lisa Delamar) are kicked out of their hotel room in favor of a popular British influencer named Charlotte (“Barbarian” star Georgina Campbell), old impulses rise to the surface and “Influencers” gleefully brings content creator carnage.
Horror fans will like, follow, subscribe and die for influencers
Things change when CW and Diane cross paths with Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), a manosphere con artist with an insufferable conservative girlfriend named Ariana (Veronica Long), while Madison (Emily Tennant) – the survivor from the first film – returns determined to bring down CW. It’s an example of the final girl returning to take down the slasher who almost ended her life in the previous film, but instead of a masked monster, the twisted killer is the breathtakingly beautiful Cassandra Naud, who makes an absolute feast of her role.
Naud’s performance remains the franchise’s strongest asset. She continues to tread a very fine line, delivering a deranged performance without feeling caricatured, seductive without losing its menace, and pitiful without inviting full sympathy. Its unpredictability is exactly what makes The CW compelling; one moment you’re horrified by her and the next you’re almost rooting for her, and Harder’s screenplay builds on that dissonance. Emily Tennant’s Madison also takes on more dimension here, evolving from an easy-going content creator to a determined investigator in her own right.
But the broader cast allows Harder to broaden the commentary on parasocial relationships online, digging deeper into the legitimate dangers of far-right monsters who feel entitled to spew hate into microphones every week. And the film rightly refuses to present these bigoted losers as anything other than that, without ever crossing the line into parody. These people are real cancers on society and they live the days they deserve. And like the previous film, “Influencers” does all this while mimicking the intoxicating travelogue of decadence seen on social media that rots all of our collective brains, the aestheticized cinematography hiding the ugliness from within.
Influencers Prove There’s Room for Full Franchising
Horror is no stranger to turning surprise hits into massive franchises, and if Harder wanted to, he could totally keep making movies in that world until the TikTok algorithm gains sentience and brings about the end of humanity, because it gets weirder and weirder with every scroll down the timeline. As is the case with the first film, audiences must willingly suspend their disbelief as to how CW is continually able to get away with its binge, but there’s an argument to be made that defying plausibility is the only way. real influencers are gaining popularity in the first place. The heightened tone turns these logical gaps into part of the fun, and Harder seems less concerned with realism than with exploring the grotesque extremes of Internet fame and letting CW hunt down the worst offenders with unhinged precision. Damn, it’s fun to watch her let loose.
It would have been easy for “influencers” to simply retread what worked in the first go-around, but by embracing the ridiculousness inherent in internet culture and relying on the camp sensibilities that appear throughout the first film, the sequel is such a success that it elevates the original by existing. By letting CW run wild and stacking the cast with unsuspecting victims for it to play with (I loved seeing “Letterkenny” star Dylan Playfair return to his horror roots), Harder confirms that he is one of the most exciting indie voices in the genre.
“Influencers” is captivating from start to finish. It doubles down on everything that made the first film compelling: its glamorous surfaces, its keen sense of digital-age terror, and its unforgettable antagonist. If the franchise continues, it will be because Naud’s The CW has more damage to do, and based on this movie, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“Influencer” and “Influencers” are available to stream on Shudder.
