THE STORY – Now living in Southern France with newfound love, CW tries to leave her dark tendencies behind but old habits die hard when spoiled IG content creator Charlotte and a familiar face from her past threaten to destroy her best laid plans.
THE CAST – Cassandra Naud, Georgina Campbell, Jonathan Whitesell, Lisa Delamar, Veronica Long & Dylan Playfair
THE TEAM – Kurtis David Harder (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 110 Minutes
The horror genre is no stranger to franchise filmmaking. One could even argue it’s the genre that most utilizes the capacity for endless storytelling capabilities. Some of the most iconic cinematic characters ever have stemmed from such franchises. Obviously, there can be a worry about diluting impact over time. But occasionally, the rare sequel will appear out of nowhere and make for a very exciting viewing experience. Whether it makes way for countless new entries or remains a mere duo of original and sequel, the expansion of a familiar set of ideas is grounds for a horror film to navigate with solid ease. To establish a voice across one film, let alone several, lies in several aspects of the filmmaking process. But timeliness undoubtedly plays a key role. In that regard, Kurtis David Harder’s “Influencers” thrives. A sequel to 2022’s “Influencer,” Harder has reaffirmed his ability to grapple with timely topics through wonderfully fun genre filmmaking. With his latest, there’s a bit of slasher fun mixed in with more character-forward thriller sensibilities. And all the while, it still manages to capture the fun shock that made the original film both a great and insightful time at the movies. Importantly, this sequel doesn’t exist purely for the sake of its own creation; it’s clear Harder still has a lot more to provide his audience, not just with genre fun, but also with timely commentary regarding digital landscapes and the footprints we leave behind our screens.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering what the influencer space has quickly morphed into. It’s only been 3 years since Influencer, but that short time has seen an explosion of cultural cache within the influencer world. Their reach has expanded everywhere. In the early days of influencer culture, influencers doing their job simply meant that a new product might sell out more quickly, or trendy restaurant reservations would book up immediately. That’s annoyingly still the case, but there’s now much more power behind the words and actions of certain influencers. As personal lives have become more intertwined with social media and technology than ever before, it’s clear influencers have a hold over their massive audiences. It’s a large responsibility, which many don’t seem fit to wield. Take podcasts, for example. They have become a new political platform, often associating themselves with politicians harboring clearly evil intent. And all the while, the hosts themselves feign ignorance or centrism in the name of entertaining both sides of their fanbase. Streamers (a platform “Influencers” largely interrogates over its runtime) preach to their massive audiences, often focusing on manipulating an impressionable group of people seeking any sort of companionship.
Such responsibility imbues streamers, like the weaselly Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), with a power that becomes frightening when thinking of real-life implications. Just think of how this film portrays a streamer building up the manosphere. In a very smart turn, Harder doesn’t interrogate the audience of these creators as much as he does the creators themselves. It’s infuriating to see not only the repulsive nature of the rhetoric influencers like Jacob spew to their devoted listeners, but the hypocrisy these same voices are so intent on hiding. Jacob is never a sympathetic character, but he becomes a far more interesting one when Harder writes him as a spineless man who doesn’t even believe in the misogyny he’s spewing. It makes for a fun thrill ride when he and CW (the once again great Cassandra Naud) finally cross paths. CW hated seeing influencers ruin the natural beauty waiting to be discovered around the world. Imagine her feelings about a man actively poisoning an entire generation through similar avenues? Harder choosing to explore this angle of influencer culture shows he’s not just a fun genre filmmaker. He has just as many thoughts about the state of online culture as any of us do, and he isn’t afraid to showcase them as liars or cowards.
But of course, “Influencers” also functions as a very solid midnight thriller. While the influencer world has mutated with larger ramifications at stake, it’s still just as full of the grating niceties and inconsiderate behavior we often associate with trendy lifestyle influencers. And seeing CW methodically set her sights on that world makes for a ridiculously fun extended opening and reintroduction to the chameleonic, steely-eyed psychopath. But Naud and Harder are bringing more than just fun psycho killer energy to the screen in this sequel. “Influencers” does seem interested in the psyche of its characters, whether they’re familiar faces or newcomers alike. While a complete backstory is never revealed, nor do we learn the deepest intricacies of CW, this film provides a beautifully shot expansion of her character, which makes her all the more compelling as a genre figure. And this exploration of her character, in addition to being a globe-trotting film, makes “Influencers” feel like a more upscale version of its predecessor. But just because something feels more grand doesn’t necessarily mean it always remains that way.
“Influencers” goes about its ideas in a similar way to the first film. While it may expand its interrogative lens towards that of right-wing influencers and the growing capabilities of AI technologies, it ultimately does leave a fair amount of the actual ramifications unexplored. Harder is a solid filmmaker, and his timely ability to address these modern issues head-on as they are actively worsening makes for a compelling case of his screenwriting capabilities. But “Influencers” loosely explores its ideas through a slew of new approaches, which don’t always pay off. This sequel does feel like a much bigger film, both in terms of scope and presentation. But while sustaining the tone and style of the original, these expansions of ideas work to varying degrees. Yet the hiccups present in such thematic explorations never feel like misfires as much as they feel a bit undercooked. In that regard, “Influencers” is another sequel that confirms genre filmmaking can be an avenue for addressing a timely situation head-on and allows its audience to partake in the discussions once the credits roll. Whether or not we see this series become a full trilogy is up in the air, but the fun Naud and Harder are having within this world of influencers is one that still hits just as wonderfully as the original.
