Influencers (2025) Review: Shock over Substance

Influencers pokes a little fun at the state of sensationalism-driven influencers today but is ironically more interested in sensationalist slasher action.

Determined to track down the elusive killer, Madison follows CW’s trail to Indonesia, leading to a bloody chain reaction.

What’s immediately commendable about Influencers is how it handles suspense with its plot. Tracking down a serial killer is as revolutionary to the horror thriller genre as the six-seven meme is to TikTok, but the film gives itself a little twist by following the killer’s perspective most of the time. Thus, the suspense comes less from finding out the killer’s identity or motive and more from the dread of seeing her seep her way into the lives of her next victims, and wondering how she will try to get away with spilling blood yet again.

This suspense is backed up by the movie’s craftsmanship. Through long takes, creeping camera angles, and a low but ominously rising score, the film elevates what may be innocuous scenes otherwise into a tension-filled moment of intrigue. This, combined with the aforementioned suspense in its plot, makes Influencers a generally good and entertaining thriller to watch if nothing else.

Sadly, it is hard to praise Influencers beyond that. One thing that’s disappointing about the film is that despite its title, its commentary on influencers remains rather thin. It touches on multiple aspects of social media and its effect on our lives. We see cases of exaggerated internet personas, lives consumed by media advertising rather than actual enjoyment, or internet witch trials, all very real issues plaguing the online culture today. Yet those moments of commentary remain as mere moments. In the end, Influencers’ explicit portrayal of influencers acts mostly as a way to create victims that the audience can be satisfied to see die. CW targets famous influencers, but she doesn’t really make her murders about how they were on social media; her killings are more emotional or for personal gain.

Speaking of which, CW also leaves a mixed impression. On one hand, Naud does a good job portraying her, switching from innocent to unhinged with just a look. On the other hand, she suffers from the issue of implausibility. Since this story is about a serial killer, it needs to be logically sound about how CW is able to elude capture. Yet throughout the film, CW is impulsive and oftentimes almost reckless, such as when she blatantly walks into another person’s house in the middle of the night with no attempt to look out for any security. It becomes increasingly hard to believe she’s never been tracked down or noticed at all, especially after Madison tried looking for her already.

CW’s character takes a weird turn as well. Throughout this film and the previous, her motive is never explicitly given. That itself isn’t a problem; the tension revolving around CW can still hold up when she’s an incomprehensible force of murder. The issue comes from the film’s first act, where we see CW with her girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar, of Skin Flick). We get a 30 minute long sequence of them together and later an almost ten minute long flashback of how the two met, showing that CW genuinely cares for Diane. However, Diane never plays into the rest of the film or works to change CW’s motivation or actions in any way. It makes that segment feel disconnected, diminishing the mystique surrounding CW while not being enough to make her truly sympathetic.

This all culminates in a climax where the aforementioned tension takes a backseat to more explicit blood and an almost slasher movie-like showdown. And once all of it is over, I am left wondering just what Influencers is trying to say. Of course, not every movie has to have something to say. Sometimes it can just be enjoyable, and this film is still reasonably satisfying as a basic thriller. However, it is a little ironic that a movie that pokes fun at sensationalist influencers ends up resorting to sensationalist spectacle over deeper introspection.

Influencers will be available to stream on Shudder from December 12, 2025.