Kurtis David Harder's stylish and insightful sequel, following his successful 2023 thriller on streaming platforms, brings back Cassandra Naud as a sociopath preying on globe-trotting social media stars.
Offering an interesting variation on Patricia Highsmith's globe-trotting sociopath Tom Ripley for the social media age, "Influencer" was a hit on Shudder in 2023. So now director Kurtis David Harder and star Cassandra Naud return with "Influencers," a worthy sequel that maintains the sophisticated style and narrative twists of the original while adding enough new elements.
Director: Kurtis David Harder
Writer: Kurtis David Harder
Stars: Veronica Long, Cassandra Naud, Paulo Saraiva
The critique of narcissistic online culture remains little more than an excuse for glamorous intrigue, and the motivations of our often-lethal antiheroine remain as ambiguous as last time. But fun in enviable vacation spots is guaranteed, with gruesome deaths for many of the main characters, served up like caviar on sashimi. This tasty, if not particularly healthy, treat will be available on Shudder later this year.
A prologue shows a young woman slitting her throat in the courtyard of a luxurious Southeast Asian mansion, then crawling towards a ringing cell phone, a call that might have saved her... or not. We don't learn the story behind this episode until much later, as the script (written this time solely by Harder, without co-writer Tesh Guttikonda from the first film) employs a complex structure that makes big jumps in space and time. The first proper chapter takes place in the South of France, where Parisian Diane (Lisa Delamar) is celebrating her first anniversary with Catherine (Naud), whom we know to be the deadly CW, a serial killer of wealthy young tourists.
But these two seem genuinely in love; Their idyllic weekend at a splendid country inn is slightly marred when it turns out that the special room they had booked has been usurped by the arrogant British travel vlogger Charlotte (Georgina Campbell, from "Barbarian" and "Bird Box: Barcelona"). CW, or whatever she's calling herself at the moment, of course, won't let this affront go unpunished. However, Diane remains blissfully unaware of her lover's violent past and current actions... until she stumbles upon unpleasant evidence, triggering a confrontation that abruptly ends their romance.
Meanwhile, Madison (Emily Tennant), the surviving victim from the previous film, is trying to rebuild her life discreetly in North America. She was acquitted of the multiple murders in that story due to lack of evidence. But since the elusive culprit, CW, was never found, the internet continues to harass her, and the presumption of guilt from conspiracy theorists is reignited when a pair of podcasters lure Madison into an interview that unearths all the old accusations, similar to those against Amanda Knox. This new exposure puts her back on CW's radar, and vice versa. Madison's investigation leads her first to France and then to Bali, where Diane's worried family believes she has fled with "Catherine."
There, living in luxury and promoting themselves as online celebrities, is a toxic couple: the boastful misogynist Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell) and the moralistic conservative Ariana (Veronica Long). He sells misogynistic rhetoric that he only half-believes, while in reality he is completely dominated by his girlfriend, who in turn spouts propaganda like "the gender ideology cult is coming for your children!!" The one who actually lives the Andrew Tate-like lifestyle that Jacob only pretends to is his best friend Cameron (Dylan Playfair).
Needless to say, all these vain, privileged, and self-centered idiots will soon meet CW and regret it, just as the vengeful Madison closes in on discovering their whereabouts. Jumping from one plot point to another (there's a lengthy flashback about two-thirds of the way through the film), Harder sometimes seems to be sabotaging her own suspense mechanisms. It also requires a considerable suspension of disbelief to accept CW's seemingly limitless and malevolent control over everything internet-related, whether it's ruining someone's life or assuming a new identity.
Not to mention the improbability of her remaining undetected for so long despite lurking in broad daylight in touristy locations, being a woman with a very prominent birthmark on one side of her face. Is this physical imperfection the source of her resentment toward those who "poison the well" of culture and discourse worldwide? As before, we can only speculate. Presumably, at some point the filmmakers will unravel the mystery of CW with some explanation of her origins. But that moment hasn't arrived yet.
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