Influencer is a horror film. You understand this as a result of it’s the newest from Kurtis David More durable, whose credit embrace being a producer on V/H/S/94, and since you’ll discover it streaming on Shudder. Additionally, its opening shot reveals an isolated tropical island with a face-down physique on the seashore. So you’ve gotten a way of what you’re entering into. However Influencer can be a type of motion pictures that rewards going in as unaware as possible.
So concern not: no plot spoilers right here. After that eerie intro, we meet Madison (Emily Tennant, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Company), who’s vacationing alone at an expensive resort in Thailand. She’s placing on a bubbly present of selfies underscored with inspirational knowledge for her Instagram followers, however secretly she’s cursing her boyfriend, Ryan (Rory J. Saper), for ditching the journey last-minute. When the mysterious CW (Cassandra Naud, See) swoops in to rescue Madison from a sloshed fellow visitor on the resort bar, Madison is thrilled to fulfill a buddy round her age who’s an skilled traveler and is aware of all of the rad native spots—and never simply due to the social-media content material alternatives. Reality is, Madison has been bored and lonely, and has began to second-guess her profession path in addition to her relationship.
Simply if you assume you understand the place Influencer goes, it pulls a switcheroo, enjoying into tropes (sure, there’s a “no cell service” second) whereas additionally setting you on edge if you understand you haven’t any concept what’s going to occur subsequent. Even the opening credit, which seem shockingly late into act one, will take you abruptly. Just like the film itself, most of the performances in Influencer layer shocking depth beneath intentionally superficial first impressions. However better of all is how the film blends its very 2023 themes about social media (together with the warped sense of self that being too on-line can create—and the insidious methods expertise can be utilized to form perceptions of actuality) right into a nail-biting trip horror flick. It gained’t make you wish to keep away from new experiences, however it definitely may make you consider leaving your telephone turned off.
Influencer arrives Could 26 on Shudder.
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