Written and directed by Kurtis David Harder, in the picturesque landscapes of Southern France, a young woman’s chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos. Starring: Cassandra Naud, Emily Tennant, Georgina Campbell, Lisa Delamar, Jonathan Whitesell and Veronica Long.
Kurtis David Harder makes a few very strong moves with the opening scenes of Influencers, firstly by tapping into such a classic horror formula. Everything about that opening feels like quintessential horror and will firmly hit the nostalgia bone of any fan. The next is casting Georgina Campbell who is slowly becoming a scream queen in her own right, so seeing her in the genre is always a pleasure. Followed by how suavely and loudly Cassandra Naud embraces the serial killer vibe, that mix of charming and disarming while always feeling slightly off, it’s perfect. It immediately encapsulates the evolution from the first film so well and gives the audience that insider knowledge which is always so satisfying, it kicks things off to perfection.
Unfortunately, both the original and Influencers are the types of films that will be underestimated, but when you truly look at Harder’s choices and intentions, you see how much detail and thought there is. It’s not your casual slasher or some transparent attempt to be current. In particular the way that the film switches gears to introduce its latest element, moving from typical influencers to true crime and weaponised misogyny was a really smart choice. They’re two very aggressive, popular communities and they fit the story excellently, again they’re not being modern for modern’s sake, which is sadly so often the case.
Another example of that being how Harder presents men in this story, something that really nicely follows the pattern of the first film, they’re self-serving and unaware. It’s such a fantastic, very purposeful choice to not only keep the focus on its leading women and do them justice, but to highlight the nature of those social media communities, and larger society as a whole. As well as especially showcasing how the advancement of technology has facilitated abuse, stalking and deception.
It all works very well and has clear intentions, however as it approaches its big finale, things do start become more familiar and weaken. We hit this big fight sequence, and it feels like the style slips into something more action focused, which feels disappointing. It loses its personality and edge for something quite traditional and simple. It then stumbles into a couple of plot holes and never quite regains its footing or finds its way into building a truly satisfying ending. They’re choices that will work for some and not others, they have plenty of entertainment value, and the violence certainly has its place but considering how otherwise original Influencers and its predecessor felt, it feels like it’s backpedalling.
Regardless, what is sincerely satisfying is seeing Cassandra Naud return to the role of CW. Her portrayal is deliciously dark and devious, but we still get to see those cracks of vulnerability. She’s got the manipulative air down to a tee and one of the greatest qualities to her character is that you don’t really have to root for or against her. You can simply enjoy her penchant for thievery, violence and petty vendettas.
Bringing back Emily Tennant’s Madison was an interesting choice and one that was questionable if it would work, if she’d feel elbowed in but it absolutely works. Making it a cat and mouse game between the two of them has a surprisingly old-school quality. It harks back to more classic cinema, the chase, the close-calls and the trickery, it’s all nicely constructed. Tennant’s performance is also great, having to bring through the trauma from the first film, and the constant barrage of attention and hatred towards Madison, but also the deep desire for vengeance, it’s a balancing act that’s often not done well but Tennant ticks all the right boxes. She turns Madison almost into a classic final girl, the quintessential characters who survive the original only to face off against their nightmares in the sequel.
Influencers has a sleek edge, a slight wink to its atmosphere and picks up perfectly from where the first film left off. The final scenes aren’t as strong as the rest of the film but it’s well written, it’s fun, it’s got strong women, violence and more, so many things to enjoy. There’s a fantastic ensemble, led so well by the returning Cassandra Naud and Emily Tennant. It’s genuinely very enjoyable to watch these two go head to head, now that they both know where they stand.
As the synopsis rightly states, they chose picturesque locations, Harder’s direction follows on from the original, it’s modern and draws on that obsession with aesthetics from the themes of the writing, which is also very good. Don’t underestimate these films, they have all the entertainment of a classic slasher while being highly considered. Also, we should forever give credit to male writers who write such fantastic roles for women, and understand how to write female characters. Something that is not a given and always nice to see great examples like this.
FilmCarnage.com 