Kurtis David Harder's devilishly fun cat-and-mouse thriller, Influencer, captivated critics and cinemagoers upon its release in 2022, earning itself rave reviews and a respectable 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The cautionary social media tale drilled home the dangers of the internet, from sharing your location online to connecting with strangers. Technology has advanced more than anyone could possibly imagine in the three years since, so enter Influencers, the sequel that picks up after CW's (Cassandra Naud) calculated rampage as she targets a fresh set of victims.

Harder returns to the directing chair in the cyber-thriller that begins with CW starting a new life in France alongside her girlfriend, Diane (Lisa Delamar). To celebrate their first anniversary, they travel to a picturesque manor house, but CW's romantic plans are scuppered when they meet obnoxious internet personality Charlotte (Georgina Campbell), who muscles in on their plans and the special suite CW booked for the occasion. Meanwhile, Madison (Emily Tennant), who was left stranded on an island in Influencer, has escaped and shared her ordeal with the world – though many doubt her version of events, instead preferring to think she murdered her friends. Madison has dedicated her life to tracking down CW in order to help prove her innocence, connecting with manosphere creator Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell) and his girlfriend Ariana (Veronica Long) to approximate where CW might be in a bid to trap her.

Influencers takes what its predecessor did and heightens it, offering a new element of sinister social media behaviour in the way that influencers present themselves online, for better or for worse. Jacob and Ariana's relationship is impossibly icy behind closed doors, with Ariana consistently pushing Jacob to make increasingly hateful and dangerous content for views. An especially chilling storyline given the increasingly scandalous revelations about some of the biggest social media content creators over the past few years, as well as the rise of incel and manosphere content with Andrew Tate. Harder's shift from criticising vacuous female influencers to condemning the danger of ‘alpha male' creators is arguably the film's most interesting twist, even amongst its intricate, non-linear narrative.

It follows much of the formula of the first film, beginning with a bloody cold open and working its way back to uncover CW's new life, the one event that spirals out of control and upends her idyllic small town life, and how Madison is working through her trauma a year on from the events of Influencer. While Influencers is as much about CW's cyber deception as its predecessor, this sequel also focuses on Madison's recovery, dealing with the fallout of having her life ripped from her, her friends murdered and the invasive fans and followers stalking her, many of whom believe her to be a killer. While Influencer clearly aligned us with CW and made us cheer for her to dismantle the influencers' perfect lives, Influencers holds a mirror up to audiences who judge based solely on a fake social media narrative without thinking of the humans behind the screen.

While Influencer was a fun, bloody romp, Influencers delves deeper into the intricacies of social media, the dangers it poses, and our parasocial relationships with content creators that pose real threats when we look away from our devices. It stumbles over its multiple interweaving plot threads at times, stunting the tension, but it excels in its fun, satirical narrative and bonkers third act.

Influencers had its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival on 26 July