Horror movies have found a number of ways to satirize influencer culture, though none were as deliberate in their exploration of the lifestyle as Influencer. Even influencers themselves would likely admit that there are elements of the hobby that they are embarrassed of, making Influencer an experience relatable to all audiences. Of course, even if we think influencers are annoying as hell, that doesn’t mean we would go to the lengths that Cassandra Naud‘s CW went to in that movie, attempting to kill off an irritating influencer by stranding her on an island. Well, CW is back and has a few new targets in Influencers, which once again comes from writer/director Kurtis David Harder. This next entry takes what we liked about the original film, remixes those elements, offers some fresh twists, and is mostly just more of the same, for better or worse.

CW initially appears to have moved on from her murderous ways, as she finds a girlfriend in Diane (Lisa Delamar), with the relationship reminding her about the importance of living in the now. That is, until the pair try to celebrate their anniversary and an influencer swoops in to bump them from the room they booked. Meanwhile, Madison (Emily Tennant), CW’s target from the previous movie, is similarly trying to move on from influencer culture, especially since she is suspected of being the culprit behind CW’s crimes. As Madison tries to track down CW to bring her to justice, CW gets entangled with Ryan (Rory J. Saper), a misogynist influencer catering to the alt-right, who she understandably wants to eradicate by any means possible.

What made the original Influencer a success was Naud as CW, who managed to be just the right blend of psychotic, violent, empathetic, and alluring. She is once again bringing everything this character needs to Influencers, making the audience support her in one scene and condemn her in the next. Were she to veer too far into murderous derangement, she’d be easy to villify, and were she too sympathetic, we’d be questioning ourselves for supporting a murderer. Between Naud’s performance and Harder’s script, CW is becoming a standout figure in the slasher world. Additionally, seeing Tennant’s Madison transform from an irritating character you love to hate into someone you root for makes this sequel feel fresh. Along those lines, Ryan is largely devoid of any humanity, so we get to relish all the bad things that come his way, resulting in Influencers having a great balance of characters with the charm that makes you connect with them and the venom to make you hate them.

While CW is the strength of the concept and we’re happy to spend more time with her, especially now knowing her backstory, the locales are once again lavish, jumping from the romance of France to more tropical locales. Rather than just travel bloggers, by tapping into the “manosphere” influencers, we get new reasons to hate more characters, so even if the geographic and scenic settings feel similar to the original movie, we get fresh reasons to hate the figures introduced in this sequel. Rather than being entirely one-dimensional, though, we get layers to them that don’t necessarily humanize these toxic people, but rather the reasons we dislike them become compounded.

What makes Influencers interesting is that it toes the line of condemning influencer culture yet never ventures too far into being a satire or black comedy. It’s easy to be annoyed by the characters chasing clout and likes, but neither movie really feels like it has much to say about the trend, other than using it as set dressing. While movies like Tragedy Girls, Spree, Cam, or Hard Candy use the internet not only as a narrative device but also as a thematic device, Influencers instead uses this culture merely as an inciting incident. If that’s all you’re looking for in a story about a serial killer, then you’ll be satiated, though if you hoped for something a bit deeper, you’ll be left wanting more.

One might think that by merely adding an “s” to the title of the original movie, it was a signifier that Influencers would only slightly expand its scope, and if you thought that, you’re right. However, with the original movie being a surprise success on streaming platforms, warranting this follow-up, you’ll appreciate that the movie doesn’t reinvent itself the way other franchises have. We also get some seeds planted for what could happen in a third movie (Influenc3r?), and so long as Naud once again returns as CW, we’re interested. Though, if influencer culture dies out before we can get a third movie, we won’t be too upset, either.

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