"Influencer" goes about social-media fears in crafty, unexpected ways

Influencer (2023) 

“Influencer” is one of those movies where the less you know, the better, so we’ll tread lightly. Director Kurtis David Harder returns with another Shudder feature, following his effectively creepy and provocative “Spiral” (no, this was the good “Spiral,” not the “Saw” reboot), and proves that the dangers of social media is still a well worth going back to when done well.

“Traveling is all about experiencing new things!” The opening of a cheerily robotic influencer would be satirical if weren’t so dead-on. Then we see the dichotomy of upbeat social-media presence Madison and downbeat, lonely real-life Madison, portrayed by Emily Tennant. On a solo trip in Thailand that was supposed to be spent with her boyfriend Ryan (Rory J. Super), she documents all the sights for her Instagram followers but isn’t actually venturing outside of the hotel resort. Once Madison ends up getting rescued at the hotel bar by another young woman, CW (Cassandra Naud), she actually gets to experience Asia. After a day and night of adventure with CW, Madison finds her hotel room ransacked and her passport stolen, leaving her stranded for another week. What to do, CW knows a really cool island not far from the resort. To say anything more would ruin the surprises. Read the full review at Guy At The Movies.

Grade: B

Shudder released "Influencer" (92 min.) to stream on May 26, 2023.