Streaming Service: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Influencer (2023)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 1h 32min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Octane Entertainment,
Superchill, Shudder
Director: Kurtis David Harder
Writer: Kurtis David Harder, Tesh Guttikonda
Actors: Sara Canning, Emily Tennant, Cassandra Naud, Rory J. Saper,
Paul Spurrier, Justin Sams
Blurb from IMDb: While struggling on a solo
backpacking trip in Thailand, social media influencer Madison meets CW, who
travels with ease and shows her a more uninhibited way of living, but CW's
interest in her takes a darker turn.
Selina’s Point of View:
Influencer
turned out to be
completely different than I expected. The trailer does have a few spoilers, but
only if you sit there consciously waiting for the scenes. Out of context, it does
a great job of misleading the audience in the right way.
I’ve talked a lot
about how some trailers will mislead audiences, which can hurt the movie. When
I’m talking about that, I’m mostly discussing the genre bait and switch. Not
this kind of thing.
The
Influencer
trailer did something different. It’s still selling the right kind of
movie, but it’s painting a very different story than you get in the real thing.
That means you can be super blindsided by twists that otherwise happen
relatively early in the story.
I really liked
how they went about it. I almost see the trailer as it’s very own character in
the movie.
The film itself
was also good. It held my attention and kept me curious throughout the entire
runtime. It has the feel of
Superhost (2021) in the way the character
interactions are handled. (Though I will admit that
Superhost is the
better flick.)
Cassandra Naud (
See,
Snowpiercer, Loudermilk) absolutely rocked her part. I can’t think of a
single actor who could have pulled of a performance better than her as CW. The
most memorable parts of
Influencer are because of her.
All-in-all,
Influencer
was a solid horror, and worth giving a shot. If you’re interested, it premieres
on Shudder Friday, May 26.
Cat’s Point of View:
Influencer didn’t quite play out the way I
expected, and I was here for it.
The scenario in
Influencer’s story is the stuff of nightmares. The narrative plays on all
of the fears of a traveler visiting a foreign country alone – especially one
that doesn’t share your primary language. It takes things beyond the whole
social media angle.
Aside from a tale
that takes an interesting turn,
Influencer was a feast for the eyes.
That, of course, paired well with the social media personality theme. The
locations were gorgeous, and the cinematography captured the stunning
landscapes and urban settings very well. I found myself envious of the
fictional character on screen, enjoying their seemingly top-tier resort
accommodations.
Cassandra Naud was
an excellent choice to play CW. It was as if the part was written just for her.
Of course, Emily Tennant (
Polly Pocket, The Watchful Eye, The Baby Swindler)
and Sara Canning (
Nancy Drew, The Banana Splits Movie, Superhost)
certainly were up to the task of their roles as well. I had a little internal
giggle that Canning’s character interacts with a character referred to as CW,
considering I first got to know her as an actress from
The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
on the CW network.
I really enjoyed
my experience watching
Influencer. I wish there was a bit more to the
ending – or a post-credits epilogue. That’s only my own curiosity wondering
what happened next. The ending was fine the way it was.
If you have a
Shudder subscription, this would be worth the watch.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 93%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score –7.7/10
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5
Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R
Movie Trailer:
No comments:
Post a Comment