[Film Review] Influencer (2023)

The latest film from Spiral (2021) director Kurtis David Harder offers a refreshing take on influencer horror. Blending slick satire with sympathetic nuances rarely seen in films about the rich and famous, Influencer (2023) is a razor-sharp critique of online celebrity and its falsity.

Social media influencer Madison (Emily Tenant) finds herself on a solo trip to Thailand when her boyfriend bails at the last minute. An opening voiceover gives us the lowdown on Madison’s enlightening trip to Asia, spouting pseudo-inspirational quotes about finding yourself, trying new things and experiencing the world. What we actually see is a luxurious resort straight out of The White Lotus (2021-). Madison spends her days taking selfies by the pool, eating canapés and getting massages. As such, Influencer pokes fun at the phoniness of social media stardom from the get-go. 

Drinking alone one evening, Madison is rescued from a sleazy lounge lizard by the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud) – a confident ‘cool girl’ and experienced solo traveller. The two swiftly become holiday besties and Madison gets to have the Thai adventure of her dreams. CW plays tour guide, showing Madison the best hidden gems and Instagram-worthy spots. But darkness lurks beneath the glossy veneer of this budding sisterhood. After a boozy night on the beach, things take a sinister turn. 

Influencer gifts us with the most compelling of villains: a stone-cold psychopath. We know nothing of CW’s motivations, her backstory, or her redeemability. When it comes to female villainy, writers of horror are often determined to explain their actions by exposing their vulnerability. If we can understand that our baddie experienced a past traumatic event, then the sympathetic cracks will start to show in their villainous demeanour. Influencer resists this predictable characterisation entirely. The ambiguity of CW is far more chilling. There is nothing more frightening in horror than an ordinary person who chooses cruelty simply because they can.

Influencer horror films have a habit of churning out two-dimensional selfie-obsessed characters that are unbearable to watch and promptly get killed off. By comparison, Madison feels well-rounded and relatable. From the beginning, we can see that her jet set lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. She’s unhappy in her relationship. She finds her job tedious. Despite what she tells her followers, she doesn’t have the confidence to venture outside her plush holiday resort and experience the ‘real’ Thailand. 

Madison spends her trip promoting beauty products, posing for photos, and posting updates to her followers. The film gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how relentless and energy-zapping the job of an influencer can be, and how much success hinges on the fickleness of followers. It busts myths about the influencer lifestyle by showing us that the work involved in being a content creator is neither glamorous nor effortless.  

Influencer gives us a glimpse behind the digital curtain, but all we find is practised poses, fake smiles, and a carefully crafted persona. If Madison’s followers only know her based on her social media presence, then they don’t really know her at all. The film points out the irony of influencers selling personality as a product by questioning whether personality exists in the first place. It creates horror from the fact that anyone can be a ‘Madison’ because this online image is so meticulously stage managed to the point where it loses any authenticity. 

Influencer is an incredibly effective concept and by far the most sophisticated influencer horror film to date. It unveils a bleak picture of the digital world that echoes our mounting anxieties about online safety, from voice cloning to deepfakes. Madison’s vulnerability online is not that far from our own reality, which makes for an even scarier thought. 

RELATED ARTICLES

---