That expression on Skylar's face doesn't exactly scream out "I'm a nurturing manager who always looks out for the best interests of my client," does it?
Deadly Influencer is a 2019 Lifetime Movie of the Week Teen Drama/Thriller, written by Stephen Romano and directed by Curtis Crawford.
Skylar Madison (Morgan Taylor Campbell) is an orphaned high school student who shares the house she inherited from her mother with her older cousin Doreen (Avaah Blackwell). Skylar has had amazing success managing social media influencers. After the tragic untimely death of her client Monica Davis (i.e., she was murdered by Skylar after she dared to get a modeling contract without her knowledge or approval), Skylar picks up a new client: Jessica Lake (Abby Ross), a sweet, pretty fashion vlogger. After guiding Jessica to hundreds of thousands of new followers in a short period of time, Skylar has big plans for her. However, Jessica's mom Lynn Kessler (Anne Dudek), who's skeptical of social media anyway, has concerns about Skylar, which prove to be well-founded. As this is a Lifetime Movie of the Week, it all gets resolved in an extremely melodramatic fashion.
Deadly Influencer contains examples of:
- The Alcoholic: Doreen is almost always seen with a glass in her hand, but she's trying to get better.
- Ambiguously Bi:
- Skylar has hints of this, with her devotion to Jessica seeming like obsession, and she curtly rejects the advances of her date Adam.
- Doreen drunkenly hitting on Lenore (calling her "pretty lady") might also hint at her orientation.
- Book Ends: The movie opens and closes with Skylar hosting a "200,000 followers" party for her blonde social media star client.
- Control Freak: Skylar, toward Jessica and Doreen. Skylar's mom apparently acted the same way toward her.
- Didn't Think This Through: So Doreen has discovered that Skylar's alibi for the night her mother was killed doesn't hold up. Even with no direct evidence that Skylar was the murderer, at the very least this proves that Skylar is guilty of obstruction of justice, and is worthy of being turned in to the police. Does she do this? No. Does Doreen consider that, having probably murdered both her mother and Monica, she would likely be in danger if she confronted Skylar with this information? No. Instead, she threatens Blackmail to get a share of Skylar's social media profits. It doesn't work.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: A charismatic, but naïve hopeful becomes an overnight star thanks to a manager who's a genius at promotion, but is also a Control Freak with a Dark and Troubled Past. Jessica and Skylar? Or Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker?
- Dramatic Irony: It's established upfront that Skylar is evil, so the suspense is waiting to see if Jessica ever finds out the truth about her.
- Evil Is Hammy: Skylar takes every emotion up to eleven. She even gets dramatic monologues when she's by herself plotting her next bit of deviltry.
- Evil Matriarch: From what we hear, Annie Madison was a horrible woman, and Skylar completely takes after her.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Jessica is a good-hearted blonde, and naive enough to let Skylar take control of her life.
- Has a Type: Skylar's two clients are both pretty blonde girls.
- Idiot Ball: One online reviewer has pointed out that, since Skylar is really knowledgeable about building a social media following, and she's fairly attractive, she'd save herself a lot of trouble if she just started doing her own fashion vlogging.
- If I Can't Have You…: Skylar kills Monica because Monica doesn't want to work with her anymore, and we're left to dread the same thing happening to Jessica once she gets wise.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Jessica (Light) is the cheerful social media star, Skylar (Dark) is her manipulative, ruthless manager. They're even visually designated as such in the climactic party scene, where Jessica wears a frilly pink dress while Skylar wears black lace.
- Lonely Funeral: Skylar, Jessica and Lynn are the only ones to show up for Doreen's funeral.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Skylar staged the murders of her mom and Doreen to look like a botched mugging, and killed Monica as she was in the hospital.
- Matricide: Before the film's events began, Skylar killed her mother, made it look like someone else did it, collected her life insurance money, and got sole possession of her house.
- New Media Are Evil: The point is made early and often: while social media can help people foster connections, it's also extremely addicting, and the pursuit of popularity and followers can detach you from reality.“Our true friends and true families? They’re not clicks or likes. They’re real people who love us IRL… That means 'in real life'."
- Not Good with Rejection: The movie is set into motion when Skylar pushes Monica off a deck when she learns that Monica is leaving her for a pro modeling agency.
- Only Sane Woman: Lynn. For once, a character in a Lifetime movie notices that several people connected to the villain have died under suspicious circumstances, and realizes that they're likely to kill again unless preventive measures are taken.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Monica, who Skylar attempts to kill in the opening scene and finally succeeds in doing so a few minutes later.
- Sacrificial Lion: Doreen, who foolishly tries to match wits with the maniacally clever Skylar and ends up paying with her life.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Skylar actually looks really good after her makeover, apart from, you know, being a psychopathic murderer.
- Shout-Out:
- Cool Teacher Ms. Kessler devotes her class to the work of Harlan Ellison and Philip K. Dick.
- One of Jessica's fangirls is named Lenore Poe.
- Shrinking Violet: Doreen is timid and neurotic, cowering under the browbeating of Skylar's mother and later Skylar herself.
- The Sociopath: Skylar is a hugely self centered manipulator with a violent streak.
- The Svengali: Skylar completely dominates the lives of her social media clients, right down to dictating the clothes they wear, and intimidates them into complying. At one point she tries to get Jessica to sign a 10-year contract with her.
- Teens Are Monsters: Skylar is a high school senior, and a truly terrible human being.
- Those Two Girls: Lenore and Alexa, two of Jessica's social media fans who hang out with her and are never seen apart from one another.
- Villain Protagonist: Jessica and her mom are the heroes, but Skylar is the central character.
