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Influencers (film)

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Influencers
Film Poster
Directed byKurtis David Harder
Written byKurtis David Harder
Produced by
  • Jack Campbell
  • Chris Ball
  • Taylor Nodrick
  • Rebecca Campbell
  • Kurtis David Harder
  • Micah Henry
Starring
CinematographyDavid Schuurman
Edited by
  • Rob Grant
  • Kurtis David Harder
Music byAvery Kentis
Production
company
Jackrabbit Media
Distributed byShudder
Release dates
  • July 26, 2025 (2025-07-26) (Fantasia)
  • December 12, 2025 (2025-12-12) (United States)
Running time
110 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Influencers is a 2025 horror thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Kurtis David Harder. It is a sequel to the film Influencer (2022), starring Cassandra Naud and Emily Tennant reprising their roles from the first film, with Georgina Campbell, Lisa Delamar, Jonathan Whitesell, Veronica Long, and Dylan Playfair in supporting roles. The film is a co-production between Canada and the United States. It had its world premiere at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival on July 26, 2025, and was released on Shudder on December 12, 2025.

Plot

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A woman is seen in her luxury house, distraught by unseen notifications on her phone, before slitting her own throat.

In Southern France, CW, having escaped from Thailand and started a new life, and her girlfriend Diane are celebrating their first anniversary. CW becomes frustrated by influencer Charlotte who takes their hotel room at the last minute and keeps asking the couple to attend various events; CW goes with her alone to a secluded landmark and kills Charlotte and impersonates her on social media.

After returning from their trip, Diane becomes suspicious with CW's behaviour and CW returns on day to find that Diane has searched her belongings, finding fake passports and links to previous murders, including Charlotte. CW tries to talk her way out but is unable to convince Diane. CW becomes infuriated and strangles Diane to death but immediately regrets her actions and escapes to Bali. CW then uses Diane's voice to create a personal A.I. assistant to cope with her grief and assist with her crimes.

Meanwhile, Madison, the survivor from the first movie, has kept a low profile as a result of constant media scrutiny and online bullying as she is the only suspect for the murders of her boyfriend and the other women killed by CW (who remains unfound and unidentified), despite being officially cleared all of charges. She goes to France when she learns about the mysterious murder of an influencer (Charlotte) and finding CW and Diane on her Instagram pictures, then learns about CW's trip to Bali from Diane's mother.

In Bali, both Madison and CW encounter Jacob, an alt-right streamer and influencer, and his girlfriend, alt-right influencer Ariana, revealed to be the woman from the intro, and use him to find or foil the other, each telling him that the other is the real murderer.

Jacob eventually grows more suspicious of CW, but she manages to hack his computer and posts one of his and Arian's sex tapes online, exposing him as a cuck. Distraught as her private life is exposed, Ariana takes her own life, seen at the beginning of the film.

Madison and CW finally encounter one another and argue about Ariana's death before it escalates into a fight which ends with Jacob seemingly fatally stabbed and CW knocked out.

While Madison uses CW's phone to find her hideout and belongings, Jacob discovers that CW has posted his private videos, prompting her to stab him to death, while his live stream camera is active, finally exposing her to the world.

While hundreds of live viewers comment about CW's looks, suspect a hoax, or praise Jacob's death, a completely unhinged CW chases and butchers Jacob's best friend and his entourage while laughing maniacally, as the credits roll.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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On May 6, 2025, it was announced that director Kurtis David Harder had wrapped shooting Influencers, the sequel to his 2022 horror film Influencer.[3] It was also announced that Cassandra Naud would reprise her role from the first film, and that the ensemble cast includes Georgina Campbell, Lisa Delamar, Jonathan Whitesell, Veronica Long, and Dylan Playfair.[3][4]

The film is a co-production between Canada and the United States.[1] It was produced by Jackrabbit Media's Jack Campbell, Chris Ball, Taylor Nodrick, Rebecca Campbell, Kurtis David Harder and Micah Henry.[3] Harder co-edited the film with Rob Grant.[5] Jackrabbit Media also holds worldwide rights[6] and sold the film to international buyers at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.[3]

Deadline described the film as "set in the picturesque landscapes of southern France, the sequel watches as a young woman's chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos. Pic deepens a cinematic universe built around themes of deception, online identity, and the darker sides of curated personas, offering an expanded canvas compared to the original."[3]

Harder said about the film:

With Influencers, I wanted to revisit the themes of control and illusion, but from a new angle — one that's more seductive, more dangerous, and more unhinged. It's a film that plays with perception. Fans of Influencer will feel something familiar beneath the surface, but the real fun is discovering just how deep those connections run.[3]

Filming

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Filming took place in Bali, Canada, and France over four months in 2024 with a small crew of 15 people.[6][5]

Marketing

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On July 21, 2025, Letterboxd released a clip from the film featuring Naud and Campbell on its social media platforms.[7]

Release

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The film had its world premiere at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival in the Septentrion Shadows section[2][8] on July 26, 2025.[1] It was the closing film at FrightFest, where made its UK premiere in August 2025.[9] Streaming service Shudder holds distribution rights for English-speaking territories.[3]

It also screened in the Borsos Competition program at the 2025 Whistler Film Festival,[10] and closed the Blood in the Snow Film Festival in Toronto on November 22, 2025, ahead of its December 12, 2025 release on Shudder.[11][12][13]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 45 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Influencers is a sharper, darker, and gleefully vicious sequel that skewers hollow influencer culture with stylish carnage and delicious black humor."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

In his review for Variety, Dennis Harvey said that Influencers is "a worthy sequel that maintains the original's upscale gloss and narrative twistiness while adding a sufficient number of new wrinkles".[16]

Mary Beth McAndrews of Dread Central gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Naud once again shines as CW, weaponizing her slight, femme frame to craft your worst nightmare in human form. When she's with Diane, Naud really does let CW shine, smiling bigger and more genuinely than we've ever seen from the character. There's a levity and light around her that's sadly suffocated by her dark, obsessive needs. Both Harder's script and Naud's performance bring CW's character to new heights that highlight her complexity as a character, but never forgive or excuse her violent actions", and added, "Harder and Naud have made something special here, and with Influencers, they've proved it's not just lightning in a bottle. Expanding the scope and developing CW's character into something much more complex and almost sympathetic makes this a stellar sequel that filmmakers of all budget levels can learn from."[17]

Joe Lipsett of Bloody Disgusting called Influencers "a great sequel that takes the series in a fun, satirical, and often deliciously mean new direction".[18]

Accolades

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Award / Festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival November 22, 2025 Best Picture Kurtis David Harder Won [19]
Best Director Won
Best Cinematography in a Feature David Schuurman Won
Best Editing in a Feature Robert Grant and Kurtis David Harder Won
Best Screenplay in a Feature Kurtis David Harder Nominated [20]
Best Lead Acting Performance in a Feature Film Cassandra Naud Nominated
Best Supporting Acting Performance in a Feature Film Emily Tennant Nominated
Best Music Score in a Feature Avery Kentis Nominated
Whistler Film Festival December 7, 2025 Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Film Kurtis David Harder Nominated [21]
UBCP/ACTRA Northern Star Award Cassandra Naud Won [22]
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival October 27, 2025 Audience Choice Award Kurtis David Harder Won [23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Influencers". Fantasia International Film Festival. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Navarro, Meagan (May 8, 2025). "Fantasia 2025 First Wave of Programming Includes 'Influencers,' Lynchian 'I Live Here Now,' and More". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Grober, Matt (May 6, 2025). "Cassandra Naud Reteams With Filmmaker Kurtis David Harder On Shudder Thriller Sequel 'Influencers'". Deadline. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  4. ^ T, Amber (May 6, 2025). "INFLUENCERS: Georgina Campbell Joins Cassandra Naud In Shudder Sequel". Fangoria. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Groth, Cole (December 8, 2025). "Kurtis David Harder on the Rules of Sequels and Editing Blind for Influencers (INTERVIEW)". FandomWire.
  6. ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (May 15, 2025). "Jackrabbit Media marks third anniversary in Cannes with biggest ever slate". Screen International.
  7. ^ "Watch an exclusive clip from Kurtis David Harder's Influencers". Letterboxd. July 21, 2025 – via Instagram.
  8. ^ Minton, Matt (May 8, 2025). "Steve Pink's 'Terrestrial' and Julie Pacino's 'I Live Here Now' Among Fantasia 2025 First Wave Line-Up (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  9. ^ "FrightFest Unleashes 2025 Line-Up". Starburst. July 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Tracy, Andrew (October 28, 2025). "Youngblood, Akashi among Whistler's Borsos Award nominees". Playback.
  11. ^ Blacktooth (2025-10-24). "Terror Returns to Toronto: Blood in the Snow Marks 14 Years of Canadian Horror Mayhem". Horror Society. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  12. ^ "Influencers Trailer: Travel Blogger's Globe-Trotting Murder Spree Catches Up to Her in Shocking Sequel (Exclusive)". People.com. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
  13. ^ "Influencers | UHM". UHM. November 4, 2025.
  14. ^ "Influencers". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  15. ^ "Influencers". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  16. ^ Harvey, Dennis (August 6, 2025). "'Influencers' Review: Living Too Well Gets the Best Revenge in a Sleek Shudder Sequel". Variety.
  17. ^ McAndrews, Mary Beth (August 5, 2025). "'Influencers' Review: A Perfect Horror Sequel [Fantasia 2025]". Dread Central.
  18. ^ Lipsett, Joe (July 28, 2025). "'Influencers' Review – Shudder Sequel Provides a Great Game of Cat and Mouse [Fantasia 2025]". Bloody Disgusting.
  19. ^ "2025 Bloodies - Awards Winners". Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  20. ^ "2025 Bloodies - Awards Nominees". Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  21. ^ "Opening & Closing Night films; Borsos Competition unveiled » Whistler Film Festival". Whistler Film Festival. October 27, 2025.
  22. ^ "WFF25 Anniversary Awards » Whistler Film Festival". Whistler Film Festival. December 6, 2025.
  23. ^ "INFLUENCERS Leads Brooklyn Horror Film Festival's Audience Awards". Fangoria. October 27, 2025.
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