Influencers (2025) Dir Kurtis David Harder, Shudder ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review: Matthew Alicoon

Influencers (2025)

Dir Kurtis David Harder

Shudder

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review: Matthew Alicoon

Running Time: 110 Minutes

“Online fame becomes both weapon and prison in this intelligent thriller”.

Influencers is the sequel to 2022’s Influencers and follows serial killer CW (Cassandra Naud), as she is settling down with her girlfriend Diane in France. After meeting British social media influencer Charlotte, this reignites CW’s obsession for dealing with entitled influencers in her twisted way. Madison (Emily Tennant) is on the hunt for CW, to try and clear her name.

If Influencer was examining the allure of the most luxurious social media lifestyles, Influencers turns its attention to the true horror of what fabrication and deception looks like behind the perfect social media lifestyles. Kurtis David Harder’s script is incisive with sharp commentary tackling compulsions and addictions innate to the social media usage. Influencers plays with a number of distinctively compelling narrative threads within characters, integrating tension between lives that are begging for attention against the consequences of disconnection.

Cassandra Naud is unbelievably subdued as CW, as she conveys complex motivations and suppressed intentions with minimal facial expressions complexities. Naud’s mastery lies in what is left unsaid, as her silence and glances portray her nuanced reflections on technology and social media. Emily Tennant brings a subtle, haunting edge to her trauma from the first film. Horror icon Georgina Campbell magnetically embodies a British influencer who is deliberately disruptive.

CW emerges as one of the most underrated horror figures of this decade. The originality sparks conspiracy, as her disdain for the glamourised world of social media influencers is truly absorbing. One of the most provocative sequences considers the importance of if a social media star’s disappearance would matter at all, capitalising on the film’s critique of idealised social media stars. The tension between CW and Madison evolves into a cat and mouse dynamic, heightened by the ingenious use of Madison from the first film. Harder uses Madison’s presence to explore the desire of existing beyond a social media profile and wanting nothing to do with her phone.

Perhaps Influencers’ narrative convenience surrounds Madison’s attempt to track CW, as it loses credibility. For how enhanced digital security has become, there was plot mechanisms that felt designed to speed the story up rather than emerge naturally. I thought the lack of digital security; felt too convenient for a film that’s main ambition is centralized on social media presence. However, the film builds to a finale of kinetic and dizzying intensity. The climatic confrontation is jaw-droppingly unrelenting, leading to an utterly insane ending.

Kurtis David Harder nails his priorities of balancing entertainment with examination. The rivalry between the leads is compelling and resonant, with intrinsic commentary onto the truths of social media usage. Influencers also allows room for breathing space, allowing for a greater exploration of the ramifications of social media. The film amplifies the original films’ intentions, while also standing confidently with its own new merits and deepened commentary.

Cast

Cassandra Naud as CW

Emily Tennant as Madison

Georgina Campbell as Charlotte

Lisa Delamar as Diane

Jonathan Whitesell as Jacob

Veronica Long as Ariana

Dylan Playfair as Cameron

Crew

Director – Kurtis David Harder

Screenwriter – Kurtis David Harder

Producers - Jack Campbell, Chris Ball, Taylor Nodrick, Rebecca Campbell, Kurtis David Harder & Micah Henry

Cinematographer – David Schuurman

Editors – Rob Grant & Kurtis David Harder

Music – Avery Kentis