One of Shudder’s recent exclusive films is a gripping thriller titled Influencer. Directed by Kurtis David Harder (Spiral, Incontrol), who also co-wrote the film with Tesh Guttikonda (Summerland), Influencer tells the story of a social media influencer, Madison, traveling alone in Thailand. She meets another solo traveler, CW, who shows Madison a different side of Thailand. While everything starts out great, things take a twisted turn as CW’s true intentions are revealed.

It seems that lately there have been many indie horror films focused on influencers and influencer culture. What makes Influencer stand apart from those films is that it isn’t entirely anti-influencer. It does speak to how what you see on social media is usually fake or a half-truth, but more than anything it comes across as a cautionary tale. Madison, and influencers like her in real life, often post pictures and videos that not only reveal to their entire following where they are, but also reveal if they’re alone or not. Madison and CW represent two extremes; on one side is the influencer who shares every aspect of her life with the world and believes those followers care about her, on the other side is someone who is disconnected from all social media and also has a deep loathing of it. The plot warns to be careful what you share with the world while also making it clear that you should never judge a book by its cover. You never know what the person in front of you is truly capable of.

Narratively, Influencer utilizes some storytelling methods that have become popular in recent years. The first is that the open credits don’t appear until almost a quarter of the way into the film. By placing the opening credits this late in the film, it allows for the opening to act almost as it’s own short film, and it also lets the audience know it is a major turning point in the film. Influencer implements another unique storytelling method by shifting point of view as a way to make some shocking reveals, while also adding to the mystery. Much like social media itself, the audience is only seeing a series of half-truths depending on whose perspective they’re currently seeing. Even when you think you know what’s going on, you don’t know the full story. This allows for a gripping thriller to unfold as the audience slowly unravels the mystery surrounding CW.

Because Influencer is a very plot and character-driven film, the performances are a huge part of what makes the film work. Emily Tennant (Riverdale, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency) stars as Madison. Tennant’s performance is a standout in how she’s able to make Madison a character the audience can empathize with. She’s an influencer with a huge following who posts sponsored pictures and videos with uplifting captions, but Madison is also not someone who seems to really want this kind of life. Tennant perfectly shows social media as a mask, letting that mask slip when Madison is alone or with CW, but she also shows that Madison is a good person underneath. Cassandra Naud (See, Snowpiercer) plays the mysterious CW. Naud is someone I have seen many times in my TikTok feed as an influencer herself promoting the company she co-founded, Somedays, so I was very interested to see her in Influencer. CW is a character who never reveals her true self. For the most part she is guarded, calculated, and always in control. Naud is not only wonderful at making CW feel dangerous, but she’s also great at showing CW slip into various masks and personalities depending on who she’s talking to. Other notable performances come from Rory J. Saper (The Legend of Tarzan, Incontrol) as Madison’s boyfriend, Ryan, and Sara Canning (Superhost, In the Shadow of God) as another influencer named Jessica.

Adding to the suspense of the film is the beautiful location, Thailand. Of course influencers and travelers would be drawn to such a beautiful place with gorgeous scenery, relatively cheap prices, and rich cultural history. While Influencer does show the beauty and allure of this place, it also shows how easy it is for someone to disappear there. Of course, this can happen in almost any place when one travels abroad. Yet there is something quite unnerving about traveling to a place alone, where you don’t speak the language, that has so much unexplored, remote areas where a traveler could vanish without a trace.

Influencer is a meticulously crafted, gripping mystery sure to keep audiences guessing. Harder and Guttikonda tell this tale in a way that quickly grabs the viewer, then holds that attention with a twisted narrative style, holding back secrets right up until the final act. Even when Influencer treads familiar water, the way the story is told feels fresh and suspenseful. With fantastic performances from the entire cast, especially Naud, and the beautifully dangerous setting, Influencer makes for a truly entertaining thrill ride.

OVERALL RATING: 7.5/10