Influencer Movie Discussed and Recommended – The movie comes from Shudder, a horror movie house. But this isn’t a horror movie at all, more like a social commentary-cum thriller. There are some intriguing things going on, and I definitely enjoyed it. But it isn’t carving any new ground here. I half expected a dramatic head fake and about face at the end… but while the ending was of the more tried and true variety, it still was a grin inducing flip. Let’s get to it.
Influencer Movie Discussed and Recommended Walkthrough
The movie opens with a popular social media influencer, Madison, out on a glorious luxury vacation in Thailand. But it’s obvious from the jump that it’s all just a façade to promote herself and various advertisers online. Behind the glamorous posts lies a stark reality of discontentment and unfulfilled expectations; she’s obviously done with this pseudo-glamor, and she is yenning for something else. Well, luckily(?!) for her, her vacation takes an unexpected turn when she meets CW serendipitously(!?). Madison’s passport and other travel docs have been stolen. WHAT TO DO!? But CW steps in (phew) and offers a place for her to crash while she works to get a temporary passport from the embassy. (Can confirm, this happened to me in Manila once. Passport stolen in a theater. I felt pretty bad walking past multi-block long lines of people at the embassy hoping for a visa to the United States.)
CW, a local, with motives so pure, they make you wonder… hrm… that is almost TOO sweet, you know? But no. Madison never questions it. So CW takes Madison out this idyllic island, to spend the night, by the fire… you know, as one does. Without gear. Or supplies, or any of that. And in the morning, before Madison wakes up, CW takes the boat and leaves her stranded on the island. Knowing full well that three days later, tops, Madison is going to be an ex-Madison.
A few weeks later, CW finds her next mark. Now this time, CW is our point of view, knowing full well what she is up to. Jessica, the next influencer who has come to Thailand to hail the wonders of traveling by one’s self. CW arranges to break in Jessica’s room, just like she did with Madison and she steals her passport stranding her there for a couple weeks. (Minor flaw in the writing is that a temporary passport for Americans will generally be completed in 3 days. But forget all that.) Well, when CW brings Jessica back to the apartment, she finds Ryan awaiting there. Madison, having broken up with him, he’s there to try and woo her back again. You know, flower petals… the works. But obviously, Madison isn’t there, she dead. And CW now has a significant problem on her hands. I mean, CW did take over Madison’s life… the posting to her followers, her rental, all of it.
Well, as Jessica grows more and more suspicious of all things CW, CW intervenes and stops her from leaving by stabbing her to death, and crams her into a suitcase. Then, with blood still splashed here and there throughout the apartment, CW begins manipulating Ryan with fake posts from “Madison” with other guys. Enraged, Ryan, consumed by anger and betrayal, confronts CW. CW woos Ryan and then ultimately drowns/strangles him to death. Exploiting Madison’s social media account, CW further tarnishes Ryan’s memory with more false posts. She then puts his body in her boat, and heads back out to the remote island to bury him where she had left Madison to die.
But head fake! Madison isn’t dead! And CW realizes this immediately. While trying to find her, Madison clocks her in the head with a rock and leaves her for dead. CW, wakes to watch as Madison speeds away on her boat… and she smiles as she watches her go.
Influencer Movie Discussed
First, I thought the movie was going to go into a more of a The One I Love direction, where the personality, and body swapping happens for the one that wins? Like, Evil is committed, and they become the previous person… aka, they take on the birthmark. You know? But that isn’t how this one went, and I was pretty shocked to learn that Cassandra Naud actually has that birthmark, like for real. Which, was an intriguing casting choice. Because the birthmark, plus the character = evil. But now that I know that it’s a legit birthmark, uh, I now wonder what the conversation was like in the casting room prior to pulling that trigger. Evil Character – Dark FAce… I mEAn, RIGHT? Wait, we can’t say that! Uncool! Or some such.
But I still found the movie fun, and intriguing. And the end switch was clever enough to make me smile a bit once I realized how it was going down. Now, I will say this for the topic… the backstory of traveling influencers was kinda dumb. But if you have ever been to a single resort outside of the United States, these “influencers” are everywhere now. So, it’s more just a reality, than it is really a social commentary anymore. Oh, so sad, she’s hating traveling the world and being paid to do it. I feel so awful for her. Yeah, no.
Anyway, it wasn’t magic in a bottle, but it was at least a worthwhile low-key thriller.
Edited by: CY