A content creator on a trip finds companionship with another solo traveler. But an unlikely friendship in a much-needed time is not as innocent as it may seem. Influencer tackles the digital creator life, exposing why it may not be such #goals in the end.
After her boyfriend bails, Madison (Emily Tennant) is stuck taking an idyllic trip to Thailand by herself. As a social media influencer, the beauty around her makes for great content, so she continues snapping photos by the pool for her adoring followers to envy. But behind her picture-perfect posts is a very lonely person.
While having a cocktail at the resort bar, she meets CW (Cassandra Naud), another female guest who’s alone. The two hit it off, and when Madison has to extend her trip due to losing her passport, she and CW have an Instagram-worthy adventure together.
But when CW takes her to a remote island, free of distractions and online connections, the motives behind their newfound friendship reveal a terrifying truth.
Influencer positions itself as a cautionary tale of the digital landscape. Writer and director Kurtis David Harder, the filmmaker behind 2021’s Superhost, once again utilizes current online influencer trends to explore how it allows for deception, but at a more horrifying scale.
There’s a hint of Single White Female (1992), though CW doesn’t necessarily idolize the digital persona she’s fixated on. It’s more of a game for her sinister plans, giving the film a rich suspenseful thriller element.
More importantly, the film highlights how we truly put ourselves out there. Even on a minor scale compared to influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers, the average person often posts their whereabouts in real-time — with various tags and location references. This self-serving aspect we’re all a bit guilty of is what Influencer does best to speak to, even though it’s not so in-your-face preachy.
In the end, Influencer is a compelling drama with real-world horror that keeps you hooked. While influencer-inspired horror has been a rising trend over the last few years, Harder does a solid job finding slightly different ways to speak to it.
I had hoped for more insight into CW’s background and perhaps the reasoning behind why she does what she does. Although, maybe it makes it all the more frightening that there may not be an answer or redeemable aspect to her.
Influencer is currently available on Shudder
Jordy Reviews It 
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