The benefit of a sequel is that you can hit the ground running. The lore, the characters, even the narrative format, have all been established, so filmmakers can dispense with the formality of introducing everything except the new plot.
Writer/director Kurtis David Harder absolutely embraces this approach for his sequel, Influencers. Building off the events of the 2023 film, the sequel opens with a moment of violence, before catching up with CW (Cassandra Naud) one year later.
CW now identifies as Catherine. She’s living in the south of France with her girlfriend, Diane (Lisa Delamar), eating at cute cafes and preparing for a weekend in the country to celebrate their one year anniversary. It seems as though the sociopath has turned over a new leaf: she’s happy and in love, even if Diane clearly has no idea who CW really is.
Things quickly fall apart when they arrive at the hotel and discover that they’ve been bumped from their expensive suite by an influencer named Charlotte (Georgina Campbell). Much to CW’s chagrin, the brand ambassador befriends Diane and begins to encroach on their weekend plans, prompting CW to realize that she’s not completely done dispensing influencer justice.
Influencers adopts the same kind of non-linear narrative as its predecessor, but the new film utilizes it less for shock value than storytelling. When the title pops up at the end of the first act, roughly 30 minutes in, it’s not surprising; it feels like a knowing wink because we remember the format of Influencer.
Ultimately the new film is most interested in how CW and previous victim Madison (Emily Tennant) have changed over the last year. Whereas CW has settled into blissful domesticity, Madison’s entire life has blown up. While the blonde was exonerated of murder charges, she’s the subject of countless internet conspiracies, abandoned social media completely, and reduced to living in a shitty apartment while working at a bed and bath store in the mall.
With nothing left to lose, when Madison sees an opportunity to expose CW, she sets out to track the elusive villain in a film that pits the two women against each other in an exciting game of cat and mouse that travels from France back to Bali.
Where the film stumbles (slightly) is the introduction of a third party who gets mixed up in CW and Madison’s war. In order to track CW down, Madison connects with a men’s rights streamer Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and his influencer girlfriend Ariana (Veronica Long). The middle stretch of the film follows Jacob, unpacks his Beta status with his more assertive girlfriend, as well as the rift this has produced in his friendship with himbo Cameron (Dylan Playfair).
It’s not that the new characters aren’t interesting, but much of their backstory feels perfunctory and comes at the expense of screen time that could be dedicated to CW and Madison. The new dynamic between the women has taken on A Simple Favor level of obsession, which is a really exciting evolution from the first film.
Arguably the strongest aspect of the Jacob/Ariana portion of the film is Harder’s shift from critiquing female influencers to the performativity of conservative male influencers. At one point Cameron complains that Jacob doesn’t even believe half of the things he says about men losing their power to women, but the streamer is so desperate to grow his conservative fanbase that he’ll do anything to appeal to them. This storyline gives Influencers some new talking points about the way social media stars portray themselves online in exchange for profit. Most importantly for the film’s sake, it pays off in comedic spades in the film’s closing scene, which is an utter delight.
The truth is, however, that the audience is here to see the sophomore showdown between CW vs Madison. After dedicating more than two thirds of the film to the investigation and the chase, the moment the pair finally come face to face is incredibly gratifying. Despite some dodgy FX work on the weapons and some of the wounds, their knock-down, drag out brawl is incredibly satisfying.
It doesn’t hurt that the film continues to act as a tourism ad (albeit one filled with murder and deception). Harder continues to draw on the beauty of his foreign locations (both Southern France and Bali look beautiful) and the transitions between the various locations as the story shifts perspectives between the characters keeps the energy up and ensures the film moves at a good clip.
If anything, the greatest endorsement for the sequel is that it allows both Naud and Tennant the opportunity to revisit these roles and uncover new facets of these characters. Tennant’s harder edged Madison, complete with a shock of bottle dye red, is a proper adversary for CW, who initially feels more soft and romantic until she’s forced to dispense with “Catherine” and get serious about protecting herself.
In hindsight, Influencer now plays like a soft-launch to these characters and Harder’s approach to non-linear storytelling. With those elements established, Influencers can go all-in on these messy, complicated women without compromising on the fun thrill ride of seeing them face off. Influencer worked well as a standalone film, but Influencers is a great sequel that takes the series in a fun, satirical, and often deliciously mean new direction.
Influencers had its world debut at Fantasia International Film Festival. It has been acquired by Shudder for a TBD release
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