Influencer (2022)
Cassandra Naud stars as CW in Influencer (2022), streaming on Shudder.
It’s very easy to be a jaded horror fan, especially when you’ve been a fan of the genre as long as I have. You think you’ve seen all it has to offer, and begin to judge films by premise whether it’s worth your time. Eventually you cave in, and sometimes your feelings are justified which is disappointing. Sometimes, well sometimes a film shows you there’s some unique voices to experience and enjoy.
Recently I hopped onto Shudder and skimmed over my backlog on films I’’ve yet to watch clicked onto Kurtis David Harder’s 2022 film, Influencer.
Premiering in Brooklyn’s Horror Film Festival in 2022, Influencer would be picked up by streaming service, Shudder. It currently sits at a 91% Fresh rating in Rotten Tomatoes, and after my recent viewing of the film it’s easy to see why.
Set it Thailand, Influencer follows social media star Madison (Emily Tennant) who’s showing signs of some of the loneliness that comes from the lifestyle she presents herself to enjoy. It is here she meets C W (Cassandra Naud) and the budding friendship takes an abrupt, sinister turn, all before the opening credits finally roll.
Influencer manages to do something that not a lot of films of the genre do, and that’s doing so much with so little. It’s a sparse cast, as joining Emily Tennant’s, Madison and Cassandra Naud’s, CW are Sara Canning as another influencer, Jessica and Madison’s boyfriend Ryan, played by J Saper.
It is Cassandra Naud’s, CW that serves as the catalyst of the film’s lingering tension and dread. The energy she brings to the film is felt from the moment Madison encounter’s her in the lobby of their hotel, and it’s one, similar to that of Jennifer Jason Leigh in Single White Female. Where you feel she’ll do just about anything to consume the life of someone else because her own is just so broken.
What Influencer manages to do so well is keep the body count low, but gives us a captivating villain to follow along and see just how far she’s willing to go.
If you’re in the mood for a film that’s more slower in pace with a worthwhile payoff, definitely recommend giving this a look.
⭐⭐⭐1/2
