INFLUENCER - Mark Reviews Movies

Influencer, Shudder

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 25, 2023

"This is one hundred percent my story," says someone just before the first plot turn of Influencer—just before it turns out that this story most assuredly does not belong that character. It's a clever, knowing move on the part of co-writers Kurtis David Harder, who also directed, and Tesh Guttikonda, but that's also what makes this tight, social media-oriented thriller difficult to discuss without giving away a couple of relatively early surprises. This is a warning for those who worry about such things, by the way.

The first turn arrives "relatively early" here because Harder's film spends about 25 minutes of its 90 minute run time convincing us that this story is about one particular thing, only to demolish that assumption with an act of nastiness that will come to define the true natures of this tale and its actual protagonist. We know this character is terrible, but that's a significant part of what makes this story about a very modern-day case of identity fraud so fascinating.

Beyond the plotting and scheming, Harder also plays a neat game with sympathy in this story. It's all about how social media has made it easy to present a certain picture of oneself and one's life to the world. How does that happen? Well, it's as simple as the framing of photos and videos to tell a story or spin a narrative. What else is social media if not an act of curated storytelling?

More foundationally and more to the point when it comes to the main character here, though, there's an assumption that someone whose image has been propagated widely by a medium must have a story. As such, we will look for that story or, if necessary, invent one in order for that expectation to make sense. It's all about sympathy, really, and the assumption that people have some worth in who they are and some rationale for doing what they do.

Take Madison (Emily Tennant), a social media influencer who is on a two-week vacation in Thailand. From her posts, she looks to be having a grand old time, seeing the sights, relaxing by the pool, and meeting all sorts of new and interesting people. In reality, she's alone at a fancy resort during a tourism off-season, because her boyfriend Ryan (Rory J. Saper) decided not to go at the last minute. One wouldn't know that, though, from all of the smiling pictures, the peppy tone of Madison's voice in her videos, and the inspirational messages accompanying those pieces of media.

The film's camera sees it all, or at least, that's another of those assumptions we make. When a lonely Madison is bothered by one of the few other guests at the resort's bar, the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) swoops in to rescue her from the awkward situation. This young woman has made a life in Thailand, and if Madison wants to have a real adventure, CW would be happy to show her everything that isn't within walking distance of the hotel.

All of this is telling us one story—of a sudden, unexpected friendship and of Madison coming to realize that can be truly adventurous, not just putting a front of that on social media. The turn, though, is that the real story here belongs to CW, who also puts on a front—one that Madison only discovers too late to do anything about it. To be fair, CW warns her in blunt terms about the plan, but just as we want people to have stories, most of us are all too willing to assume the best of people—or, at least, not assume the worst in them.

The rest of the film follows CW, as she constructs an elaborate hoax that allows the character to reap the benefits of Madison's social media profile and bank accounts. The whole thing is so simple that some might consider the scam to be unbelievable, but such a critique is probably being unrealistic about how people generally use and view these platforms. They don't analyze the images scrolling past on their screens, and unless there's a good reason, no one digs into the story that's being told. CW's scheme is believable because it's so simple and because Madison, who has put so much of some version of life and herself into the public eye, has unintentionally made it possible.

CW simply takes advantage of that, and the plotting here becomes an ingenious game of the character juggling Madison's online identity, her own little adventure with these ill-gotten spoils, and the discovery of yet another target: an even more popular influencer named Jessica (Sara Canning). The deception, of course, becomes more difficult as a result of developments that won't be revealed here.

As Harder's camera follows the character's every move, we're looking for some reason—beyond the obvious one—for CW's behavior. Of course, we are, because that's what we do.

The particularly unsettling thing about the film is how much suspense it generates, simply because it creates an air of uncertainty around CW, played with blank-slate mystery by Naud. There are hints of the character engaging in some kind of revolt against social media and the sense of entitlement it grants to those who use it for fame and/or wealth. As we spend more and more time with the character, that desire to gain some understanding begins to clash with the reality of the person who's right in front of us.

Influencer is a crafty thriller and, in a broader way, social commentary in how it makes us consider—and constantly re-consider—the importance of framing to the telling of a story and the comprehension of a person. In a superficial world, it's difficult to tell who people are or what they are capable of doing.

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