Well, that was fun! Don’t you love it sometimes when rooting for the villain is almost kind of the honorable thing to do because the presumed hero is not nearly as cool of a person? Influencer plays up that particular dynamic as well as anything I’ve seen in recent memory.
Synopsis:
“INFLUENCER tells the story of Madison (Emily Tennant, “Riverdale”), a popular social media influencer who is having a lonely and uneventful trip in Thailand despite what she tells her followers on Instagram. While reflecting on her boyfriend canceling the trip, she meets CW (Cassandra Naud, “See”), a fearless and enigmatic traveler who offers to take her to some of the most Instagram-worthy locations. Together they share authentic meals and drinks with locals, discussing the differences between Madison’s online presence and CW’s lack of one. After showing Madison all of the amazing sights, things take a different turn when CW brings her to a surprise location — a deserted island that is completely off the grid.”
So, yeah, we hate the social media maven faking her way through an online life that has garnered her a million followers. Never mind that her boyfriend has stood her up a t the last minute at a gorgeous, but mostly desolate resort inThailand. Her “job” is to make it look like she’s having the time of her life, all the while using products that she endorses for this gig.
Meeting CW, a pretty girl with a prominent birthmark, which seems to make her appear either sinister Influencer is streaming on Shudder.
or vulnerable, deending on the viewer’s state of mind, sets the story in motion.
. When CW finds an ingenious way of keeping Madison out of the picture (literally) for a week, we follow her, find her motives and kind of root for her, even though she does some really, really nasty things—like using her spiked high heel shoe to step through someone’s throat, for example.
There’s a bit of a twist ending which I will not spoil, but what a fun ride this was. The location, the sideroads, the actors—a fun watch with only moderate amounts of horror, but well-placed horror.
