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Social media influencer Madison is on a solo trip to Thailand when she befriends the enigmatic CW, who shows her stunning spots but has a twisted ulterior motive for getting close to her.
Director Kurtis David Harder has co-written the thriller “Influencer” with Tesh Guttikonda, dwelling into the perils of getting to cozy with a stranger while you’re traveling alone. It opens with a gorgeous drone shot of an island, with the camera slowly getting closer to a pristine beach, the scene marred by what looks like a dead body of woman, with her face buried in the sand. The ominous moment is swiftly replaced by the chirpy voice of influencer Madison (Emily Tennant) spouting quotes about the wonderful benefits of travel, unaware of the terrors the trip will bring.
Within its first few minutes, “Influencer” takes clever digs at social media personalities who project having fabulous lives on their feeds. Off the camera, when her thousands of “followers” aren’t watching, Madison is absolutely lonely and miserable on her Thailand trip, despite its glorious sunsets and insta-worthy hotels. Cassandra Naud is sharp, self-assured as the antagonist CW, a young woman who knows her way around Thailand, and preys on influencers like Madison.
Divided into four acts, “Influencer” is swiftly paced for a thriller, even though CW’s motives aren’t clearly established and viewers are expected to read between the lines. She is either a sadistic criminal who derives joy from crushing others or someone who enjoys living vicariously by hijacking her victims’ lives for a while. “Nobody will even notice you’re gone,” is her trademark line, which jeers at the hollow connections made by the supposedly popular women she targets. But the writers don’t dwell to deeply into any of the themes they set out to explore, which given the 90-minute runtime, was probably never an option.
The cinematography shows off some of Thailand’s gorgeous tourist spots, the background track maintains significant suspense through the runtime. There are several plot points in “Influencer” that wouldn’t make much sense in real-life scenarios. For instance, CW’s victims stay in super-fancy hotels, which would ideally have CCTV cameras to capture suspicious activity. But maybe she is just super lucky? Despite its flaws, the thriller is an engaging one-time watch that delivers a climax with poetic justice.
You can stream “Influencer” on Prime Video.
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