The most wickedly fun and sexy lesbian thriller of the year is dropping this week, and it's one you might not have even heard of.
That ends today!
Influencers is the sequel to another film that seemingly came out of nowhere and delighted: 2022’s Influencer. The first film introduced Madison (Emily Tennant), the titular influencer whose life is infiltrated by a seemingly shy and awkward woman named CW (Cassandra Naud). But what starts as friendship becomes a battle for life and death, and ends with a satisfying—and yet open—conclusion.
The second film picks up in the aftermath of the first and reveals what CW has been up to since—and that includes building the perfect little lesbian life in Paris with her beautiful and kind girlfriend Diane. However, some habits are hard to break, and when a new influencer inserts herself into their romantic vacation, CW can’t resist going back to her murderous ways. She makes a fateful decision that upends her life and puts her back into the crosshairs of Madison, who has been living a very different life since leaving CW for dead.
Emily Tennant and Cassandra Naud in 'Influencer'
Shudder
What follows is a genuinely thrilling game of cat and mouse, and CW, once the predator, finds herself the prey, and enlists the help of—or rather makes use of—a manosphere influencer to try and turn the tables on Madison, who is quickly closing in.
The plot is, in some ways, a classic thriller, but what elevates it is how gorgeous the movie’s locales are (it was shot in both France and Indonesia) and the electric chemistry between its two leads, which radiates from the screen both when they share a scene and when they are apart. And in CW, audiences get one of the most fascinating, complicated, and alluring lesbian villainesses in cinematic history.
Is that hyperbole? No, she really is that fun to watch.
Lisa Delamar and Cassandra Naud in 'Influencers'
Shudder
Out actress Naud could not agree more. “CW has been such a joy to play. She's so mysterious, she's so badass, she's so cool. I want to be like her one day. I mean, to a certain degree, I'm not gonna go around killing people,” she jokes to PRIDE. “Playing her and also discovering her along the way has been such a special journey, especially this sequel, because... [we] really saw a different side of her, and watching her fall in love has been really beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.”
Tennant notes that the character is one we have rarely, if ever, seen on the screen. “We certainly didn't grow up with a lot of female super villains, especially ones that also have hearts. So it's very, very cool to see,” she tells PRIDE. “I think CW and Cassandra are icons.”
Tennant’s character Madison has also undergone a major transformation since the previous film, having once had the aspirational life of a successful lifestyle influencer, to now living under suspicion and as the subject of true crime podcasts.
Georgina Chapman, Cassandra Naud, and Lisa Delamar in 'Influencers'
Shudder
“It's so easy to put influencers in a box, right? They're vapid. They don't have much going on. It's all about money. It's all about ‘look how great my life is,’ and even from the beginning, you can tell Madison struggles with that,” recalls Tennant. “You see her lose everything and question herself... and then you see her get motivated, and you see her have this drive.”
And what is that drive for? Why, for justice—and revenge—of course. “There is a little bit of an obsession element that CW has with her prey, and now Madison has taken [it] on because she has to,” says Tennant.
Like the first film, Influencers, on top of being an engrossing thriller, sprinkles in some commentary about the world of influencing, and this time it takes aim at the manosphere, introducing an Andrew Tate–style character named Jacob, played by Jonathan Whitesell. The commentary is biting before it becomes bloody and deeply satisfying. It was a lane Naud was delighted to see the film go down. “The red pill bros,” she laughs. “That was really exciting for me, because it feels so far away from my circle, like I just don't interact. I never see it. I don't interact unless someone else shows me.”
Jonathan Whitesell in 'Influencers'
Shudder
She has nothing but praise for Whitesell, who plays Jacob with exactly the repulsive and performative toxic masculinity you would expect. “[John’s] an angel. He's so not like his character. So seeing him in that role, he's incredible. He really, fully, truly transforms.”
“We got to see this audition tape, and it was terrifying,” adds Tennant. “It makes you feel it. And you're like, oh, I just want to take a shower after listening to that.”
Despite his alpha male trappings, Jacob is just a pawn between these two women, and standing between them is a dangerous place to be. As this story ultimately belongs to CW and Madison, the chemistry is explosive when they eventually reunite on screen. “These movies are such crazy adventures. So just to be in this new place and starting again was electric in itself,” recalls Tennant.
“That did feel electric,” agrees Naud.
“Just that feeling of us seeing each other... that electricity existed,” says Tennant.
“The Internet wants us to kiss,” jokes Naud. She’s not wrong.
Influencers arrives on Shudder on Dec 12.
Cassandra Naud in 'Influencers'
Shudder
