Film Review - "The Influencer Project"

by Eric Hillis, TheMovieWaffler.com

originally published: 11/02/2026

It's no surprise that filmmakers have taken a generally dim view of online influencers in their screen portrayals of that modern phenomena. After all, such figures are taking eyes away from cinema and TV screens and directing them towards phones instead. Many a horror movie has featured an influencer among its roster of characters, and they're usually either a villain or a victim who is so unlikeable we're practically encouraged to celebrate their demise.

The Influencer Project might be the most pro-influencer horror movie to date. It's almost propagandistic, functioning as much as a puff piece promo for its star, British social media personality Chiara King, as a horror movie.

The film claims to be inspired by true events, but we're not given any details as to whether something similar happened to King in real life. As the story progresses it becomes clear that "inspired by true events" is being used in the loosest possible sense here. That said, there have been several cases of influencers being murdered or kidnapped, so maybe the grisly plot of The Influencer Project isn't too hard to swallow.

The fictional version of Chiara here has a desire to hit 10 million followers (at time of writing, the real life King has 1.4 million Instagram followers). Her manager Alice (Jazmine Summer) arranges for Chiara to spend a week in Copenhagen where she will film a series of lucrative endorsements for local brands. Chiara's every move will be filmed by a Danish documentary crew headed by director Mike (the film's actual director, Mike Nybroe).

Soon after arriving in the Danish capital, Chiara begins receiving sinister DMs from someone calling themselves "King Slayer." The anonymous troll threatens the unthinkable if Chiara doesn't immediately stop posting. Chiara is terrified, but she isn't willing to end her career, so she sets about trying to identify her stalker with the help of her many followers.

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The core audience for The Influencer Project will likely consist of King's real life fans, and if every one of them bought a ticket it would make Nybroe's film a found footage hit on the scale of The Blair Witch Project, whose director Ed Sanchez produces here. Mileage may vary for the rest of us, with an opening half hour that forces us to spend our time with the rather vacuous protagonist as she flogs various clothing brands (who presumably contributed heavily to The Influencer Project's funding).

Once the movie dispenses with the promos and settles into thriller territory, it has its moments. There's a nicely staged sequence at a crowded food market where Chiara realises her stalker is present and livestreaming. Chiara and the camera crew's attempts to pick the troll out of the crowd are made difficult by the livestream having a seven second delay. Another tense moment makes good use of that most sinister urban setting, the underground car park, as Chiara sets up a meeting with her stalker.

There's one big elephant in the room here: we know Chiara will make it out of the movie safely because in reality she's still posting online. Sanchez famously made his Blair Witch stars disappear during that sensation's release, but there is no way someone like King is going to retreat from the public eye in such a manner.

The Influencer Project is mildly successful as a thriller, but you'll probably see both of its major twists coming. It's more successful as a showreel for King, who proves a surprisingly convincing actress, especially in the scenes in which her fictional self has to appear terrified. If King has aspirations towards a pivot to acting, this certainly won't do her any harm, but those 10 million followers seem a long way off.