Spoilers don’t understand TikTok.

I went into this one with low expectations. As it turns out this was the best way to see this feature. It doesn’t take long until the movie uses horror film language to let you know a dark turn is coming. This is not a spoiler, the film’s main premise is obvious even from the trailer. However, I did find the movie going a little further than I expected. I’m not saying expect depth, but some characters are close to being three-dimensional.

Credit: Superchill

Influencer (2022) is directed by Kurtis Davis Harder who wrote the screenplay with Test Guttikonda. Madison (Emily Tennant) is our rising influencer, posting pictures and clips as she discovers Thailand. She was supposed to be going along with her boyfriend and partner Ryan (Rory J. Saper) but he backed out at the last minute. Fortunately luck seems about to change for Madison as she meets CW (Cassandra Naud), a rather adventurous young woman that seems to be happy to show Madison around and take her further out into the wilderness.

Yes, it should be obvious from the beginning that CW has some dark intentions but it’s never clear what her motivation is. As she finally reveals her ulterior motives, we can only guess that CW has some deep resentment/jealousy against online influencers. The way that the titles come up just as we confirm our suspicions means there’s something else to this story but I’m going to let the movie reveal that to you.

This is one of those films where I have to respect the filmmakers changing the storyline and leaving me without a clue as to what’s coming up next. Now, to be fair I did anticipate the finale somewhat but the way they went about switching the focus from the first character to the antagonist was a fresh take. Taking that risk was enough to keep me enthralled as to where the story was going. Although we eventually go full circle, it is a pity we never get to explore the reasons behind the actions of our perceived antagonist were taken or if there was an end goal in mind.

Recommended with reservations. I applaud the filmmaker taking risks in the storytelling as well as switching our point of view character. I did feel a couple of opportunities were lost to fully form a few of the characters but all in all I was invested in where the story would go next. It’s intriguing enough to merit a watch but I’m not sure if it would garner likes from all audiences.

That will do for now.