Title: The Influencer Project
Director: Mike Nybroe
Cast: Chiara King, Luca Storm, Mike Nybroe, Jazmine Summer, Alexandre Willaume, Eos Karlsson, Ronja Hauge Schierup
Where: In Theatres
Rating: 2 Stars
Review
In the attention economy, even a tragedy risks becoming content. The Influencer Project begins on a grim note, with teenager Alma (Ronja Hauge Schierup) taking her own life in front of a live-streaming camera, then turns to Chiara, an Instagram celebrity chasing the dizzying milestone of ten million followers. The opening suggests a disturbing examination of online fame, public indifference and the human cost of turning life into performance. Unfortunately, the film appears less interested in probing these uncomfortable questions than in packaging them into a familiar thriller.
Presented through a found-footage framework, the film attempts to link the pursuit of digital popularity with the vulnerability of those on its margins. Chiara is compelled to confront her relationship with people such as Alma, raising the question of whether the relentless pursuit of followers leaves room for genuine empathy. The premise is timely, especially in a culture where visibility can be mistaken for worth, and numbers become a measure of personal success. Yet the narrative ultimately pits Chiara against a masked stalker, steering the story towards well-worn suspense rather than a sharper interrogation of influencer culture. Its moral concerns consequently feel more asserted than explored.
Actors’ Performance
Chiara King, an actual social media influencer playing an Instagram celebrity, brings an intriguing real-world connection to the central role. The casting creates an opportunity to blur the line between the persona presented online and the person behind it, although the premise alone cannot compensate for a screenplay that offers familiar dramatic territory. Ronja Hauge Schierup’s Alma establishes the film’s disturbing opening, but the character’s early departure from the centre of the story limits the space available for the tragedy to shape the narrative.
Jazmine Summer, Luca Storm and Alexandre Willaume make little impression in supporting roles in a thriller that favours familiar suspense over deeper characterisation.
Music and Aesthetics
The found-footage format suits a thriller rooted in online celebrity, while the live-streamed opening establishes an unsettling link between private anguish and public spectacle. Visually, however, the film lacks cinematic distinction, and the background score does little to heighten the tension or enrich the viewing experience. Its treatment remains functional rather than immersive, leaving a timely premise without the visual or aural impact needed to make it resonate.
FPJ Verdict
Overall, the film’s promising premise gets lost in familiar thriller territory, leaving its critique of online fame more superficial than incisive.
