Plot
A woman is seen in her luxury house, distraught by unseen notifications on her phone, before slitting her own throat.
In Southern France, CW - having escaped from Thailand and started a new life - and her girlfriend Diane are celebrating their first couple's birthday. CW becomes frustrated by influencer Charlotte who took their top hotel room at the last minute and kept asking the couple to attend various events, to the point CW kills Charlotte and impersonates her on social media.
Some days later, a suspicious Diane search in CW's personal belongings and finds all her fake passports and links to previous murders, including Charlotte. CW tries to talk her way out until Diane calls her a psychopath, an infuriated CW strangles her to death but immediately regrets her actions and escape to Bali, using Diane's voice as her personal A.I. assistant to cope with her grief.
Meanwhile, Madison, the survivor from the first movie, has kept a low profile because of constant cyber bullying as she's the only suspect for the murders of her boyfriend and other women killed by CW (who remains unfound and unidentified), despite being officially cleared all of charges. She goes to France when she learns about the mysterious murder of an influencer (Charlotte) and finding CW and Diane on her Instagram pictures, then learns about CW's trip to Bali from Diane's mother.
In Bali, both Madison and CW encounter Jacob, a masculinist influencer, and his girlfriend, conservative influencer Ariana - revealed to be the woman from the intro - and use him to find or foil the other, telling him the other one is the real murderer.
In the end, Jacob grows more suspicious of CW, but she manages to hack his computer and post his private videos exposing him and Ariana as a candaulist couple. Distraught as her private practices are exposed, Ariana takes her own life.
Madison and CW finally reunite and argue about Ariana's death before it escalates into a fight which ends with Jacob injured and CW knocked out.
While Madison finds CW's hideout and belongings, Jacob discovers CW posted his private videos, prompting her to stab him to death, while his live stream camera is active, finally exposing her to the world.
While hundreds of live viewers comment about CW's looks, suspect a hoax, or praise Jacob's death, a completely unhinged CW chases and butchers Jacob's best friend and his groupies while laughing maniacally, as the credits roll.
Production
Development
On May 6, 2025, it was announced that director Kurtis David Harder had wrapped shooting Influencers, the sequel to his 2022 horror film Influencer . [3] It was also announced that Cassandra Naud would reprise her role from the first film, and that the ensemble cast includes Georgina Campbell, Lisa Delamar, Jonathan Whitesell, Veronica Long, and Dylan Playfair. [3] [4]
The film is a co-production between Canada and the United States. [1] It was produced by Jackrabbit Media's Jack Campbell, Chris Ball, Taylor Nodrick, Rebecca Campbell, Kurtis David Harder and Micah Henry. [3] Harder co-edited the film with Rob Grant. [5] Jackrabbit Media also holds worldwide rights [6] and sold the film to international buyers at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. [3]
Deadline described the film as "set in the picturesque landscapes of southern France, the sequel watches as a young woman's chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos. Pic deepens a cinematic universe built around themes of deception, online identity, and the darker sides of curated personas, offering an expanded canvas compared to the original." [3]
Harder said about the film:
With Influencers, I wanted to revisit the themes of control and illusion, but from a new angle — one that's more seductive, more dangerous, and more unhinged. It's a film that plays with perception. Fans of Influencer will feel something familiar beneath the surface, but the real fun is discovering just how deep those connections run. [3]
Filming
Filming took place in Bali, Canada, and France over four months in 2024 with a small crew of 15 people. [6] [5]
Marketing
On July 21, 2025, Letterboxd released a clip from the film featuring Naud and Campbell on its social media platforms. [7]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 95% of 40 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Influencers is a sharper, darker, and gleefully vicious sequel that skewers hollow influencer culture with stylish carnage and delicious black humor." [14] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [15]
In his review for Variety , Dennis Harvey said that Influencers is "a worthy sequel that maintains the original's upscale gloss and narrative twistiness while adding a sufficient number of new wrinkles". [16]
Mary Beth McAndrews of Dread Central gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Naud once again shines as CW, weaponizing her slight, femme frame to craft your worst nightmare in human form. When she's with Diane, Naud really does let CW shine, smiling bigger and more genuinely than we've ever seen from the character. There's a levity and light around her that's sadly suffocated by her dark, obsessive needs. Both Harder's script and Naud's performance bring CW's character to new heights that highlight her complexity as a character, but never forgive or excuse her violent actions", and added, "Harder and Naud have made something special here, and with Influencers, they've proved it's not just lightning in a bottle. Expanding the scope and developing CW's character into something much more complex and almost sympathetic makes this a stellar sequel that filmmakers of all budget levels can learn from." [17]
Joe Lipsett of Bloody Disgusting called Influencers "a great sequel that takes the series in a fun, satirical, and often deliciously mean new direction". [18]
