CW is back. And so is Madison.
Influencers is not a sequel I was jumping to see. The original film was a one-layer idea stretched thin and quite boring for something that wanted to critique influencer culture. So imagine my surprise when this follow-up actually…works. Not perfectly, but better.
This One Has Stakes
This time around, Influencers knows what it wants to be. We open with CW (Cassandra Naud) back in her element, triggered after a vacation with her girlfriend doesn’t quite go the way she’d planned because of an influencer. Right away, the film leans into the slasher mechanics confidently. Watching CW stalk, manipulate, and kill feels less like an idea being explained to us and more like a character fully unleashed. And we love to see it. But the film doesn’t stop there. Just when it seems like we’re in for a globetrotting influencer body count, the opening credits appear and the rug gets pulled out from under us.
Madison (Emily Tennant), our final girl from the first film, is out for revenge. What CW did didn’t just affect her influencer aspirations; it detonated her entire life. That character backstory alone gives this sequel something the first film lacked: stakes that go beyond the kill count. She’s angry, which grounds the film when the plot gets a bit shaky. Horror fans are in for a few surprises with this one. Writer-director Kurtis David Harder knows his audience isn’t afraid to lean into that because there are definitely some campy moments.
Houston, We Have Characters
One of the film’s biggest improvements is how it treats its victims. We actually get insight into the influencers’ lives before CW sinks her teeth in. Their insecurities, ambitions, and each of their carefully curated online personas are given enough texture that they feel like people, not just punchlines. It keeps the film from becoming another shallow “phones bad, influencers dumb” take and feels like more care was involved in the writing.
However, once the story is fully established and we close in on the third act, things start to get a little muddled. The film struggles to balance CW’s narrative with Madison’s, plot threads overlap awkwardly, and the tension slows a bit rather than escalates. And at an almost two hour runtime, this was more a detriment to the overall film. This movie didn’t need to be longer, just a bit more clear.
Still, those issues don’t undo what Influencers get right. The performances are stronger, the characters more layered, and the commentary more intentional. CW finally feels like a fully realized slasher figure rather than a concept in search of a personality. Is it perfect? No. But it’s proof that a second swing can land harder when a film actually listens. Influencers may not redefine modern slashers, but it’s definitely a more engaging follow-up making it worth the watch.
