Victoria Gotti’s son Carmine Agnello asked the court to delay his upcoming prison sentence so he can donate a kidney to his mother.

Newsday reported on Thursday, July 16, that Agnello filed a request to a federal judge to push back his 15-month prison sentence to September 18. He is currently scheduled to surrender himself on Monday, July 20.

Victoria — who is the the daughter of Gambino family crime boss John Gotti — submitted paperwork from two doctors that stated a “nephrectomy is scheduled for August 3, wherein Mrs. Victoria Gotti will be the recipient of a kidney being donated by her son, Carmine Agnello,” per the outlet. (Agnello is the eldest son of Victoria and Carmine Agnello Sr. Victoria also shares sons John, 39, and Frank, 36, with Carmine Sr.)

Federal prosecutors have reportedly objected to Agnello’s request, arguing that his previous request for a delay in the case to donate a kidney to his mother was a surgery that didn’t take place. However, prosecutors stated they would agree to a “brief deferment” up to August 10, per Newsday.

Agnello pleaded guilty in 2024 to fraud charges after he fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief loans. The estimated amount of the Small Business Administration loans were around $1.1 million.

“The defendant shamefully used the public health and economic crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to line his pockets with stolen funds,” the United States Attorney Peace shared in a statement at the time.

Earlier this year, Victoria advocated for leniency for her son because he planned on donating one of his kidneys to her amid her battle with chronic kidney disease. In a letter to the judge submitted in March, Victoria explained that Agnello’s health could be compromised if the procedure was done while he is behind bars. She added that her son is the only known compatible donor.

“He is there to help anyone,” she wrote while asking for her son to receive probation rather than prison time. “He is kind and generous to a fault. He is giving me the GIFT OF LIFE.”

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Victoria added that Agnello was her “miracle son” and that he would “never do anything he KNEW was wrong.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kelly argued that the Bureau of Prisons is equipped to handle any medical needs — including kidney removal.

“Being a kidney donor does not… constitute extraordinary family circumstances,” Kelly wrote, per docs obtained by the New York Post at the time.

Karoline Leavitt is back at work as the White House press secretary following her maternity leave while her husband, Nicholas Riccio, holds down the fort for their two children.

“It is really good to be back with all of you,” Leavitt, 28, told reporters on Thursday, July 16, as she took the podium to brief the press for the first time since giving birth to her second baby.

When asked her “secret” to juggling motherhood and work, Leavitt confessed, “I don’t think there is a secret. You just have to show up every day and keep going.”

She then noted, “It really does take a village,” before highlighting her husband’s part in their family dynamic.

“I take the opportunity to shout out to my husband, who is home with our babies right now,” Leavitt continued. “I look forward to returning home later to be with them.”

Leavitt admitted that “It’s challenging” to have a newborn at home while she is back on the job, but added, “For me, I view this as more than a job. I view this as public service.”

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is building her family while growing her political career. On May 7, 2026, Leavitt and her husband Nicholas Riccio, who is 32 years her senior, confirmed that they welcomed daughter Viviana “Vivi” Riccio on May 1. The pair are also mom and dad to Nicholas Robert “Niko” Riccio. “The […]

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Leavitt thanked the reporter for their question, concluding, “There’s nothing better than being a mother.”

Leavitt has had a big supporter in her husband, a real estate developer who runs his own company, since they met in 2022.

The pair, who have a 32-year age gap, welcomed their first child, son Niko, in July 2024. (Leavitt notoriously began working on President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in 2024 days after giving birth.)

Leavitt and Ricco, 61, eventually tied the knot on the eve of Leavitt joining the president’s second administration in January 2025.

That December, Leavitt announced that she and Ricco were expecting their second baby together.

“The greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for — a baby girl coming in May 2026,” she shared via Instagram at the time. “My husband and I are thrilled to grow our family and can’t wait to watch our son become a big brother. My heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood, which I truly believe is the closest thing to Heaven on Earth.”

In late April, Leavitt announced that she was starting maternity leave after conducting her “last gaggle” with the press.

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“As you can see, I’m about ready to have a baby any minute, so I will see you guys very soon,” she revealed on April 24, showing off her growing baby bump.

Leavitt welcomed her daughter, Vivi, one week later on May 1.

“Our hearts instantly exploded with love. 💕,” she wrote via Instagram while announcing her baby girl’s birth, sharing a photo holding the newborn. “She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble.”

William Shatner is set to make an appearance at the annual rock music festival Riot Fest, but it isn’t just his upcoming performance that’s generating online buzz. Ahead of the music festival, the “Star Trek” icon’s backstage rider has been revealed, offering fans a glimpse at the outlandish list of things he’s expecting when the day comes.

This year’s Riot Fest marks the festival debut of Captain Kirk and his band, The *uckers. Organizers of the annual music event have been inviting William Shatner to perform for about a decade, and the actor has finally relented.

Ahead of the festival, which will be held in Chicago, Riot Fest shared Shatner’s rider. While many artists include typical requests, such as the types of food and drinks they prefer or the dressing room setups they want, the nonagenarian had some unusual requirements.

Shatner is requesting a boat to be renamed after him “so he can captain a ship again,” and also wants to co-anchor the weather with “Chicago’s most beloved meteorologist.” For his band’s performance, he wants plenty of firebreathers and an introduction video from heavy metal band GWAR.

Moreover, his dressing room must have “an assortment of adoptable puppies,” one bowl of saukerkraut, a four-foot-long Polish sausage, and white socks and underwear, among other things.

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Is The Actor’s Rider Real?

In the caption, Riot Fest noted that they received a “personal video message” from Shatner about the rider, and they are asking for help from their followers in fulfilling the demands.

“I can’t tell if this is real or not, but either way, it’s the best event promotion I’ve seen in years,” one user noted. Riot Fest responded that they couldn’t believe it either, adding, “He’s way cooler than we are.” Shatner’s rider is possibly a marketing stunt orchestrated by the festival organizers and Shatner himself to create buzz.

In 2025, Riot Fest announced that John Stamos would be making his festival debut if his list of demands was met. The rider featured a mix of practical, odd, and demanding requests, including a lifetime supply of combs for fans, a foot rub, unlimited hummus in a guitar case, and the festival’s founder getting a tattoo of Stamos.

Shatner’s rider is most likely a combination of real and made-up requests, but fans are eager to fulfill them either way. One business, Fatpour Tap Works, has already offered to name a food item after Shatner if the comment receives 500 likes.

The *uckers features big names in rock music, including Marcus Nand on guitar, Britt Lightning on guitar, Phil Soussan on bass, and Fred Aching on drums. The group will be performing songs from the actor’s catalog of works, as well as new songs from his upcoming heavy metal album.

“I’ve always believed that music, like space, is about exploration. Riot Fest is exactly the kind of place where anything can happen. We’re bringing volume, intensity, and a few surprises. I can’t wait to share this experience with the fans,” Shatner said.

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The Actor Has Released More Than 10 Studio Albums

Shatner’s first studio album, “The Transformed Man,” was released in 1968, and it featured recitations of songs and texts rather than actual singing. Since then, he has released several more, including holiday- and space-themed records.

He has collaborated with artists from different music genres, some of whom include Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Joe Walsh, Ben Folds, Brad Paisley, Joe Jonas, Sheryl Crow, and Rob Halford.

His latest project is a heavy metal album, which he teased in February as a “gathering of forces,” per The Blast. “We are about to boldly headbang where no one has headbanged before. Stay tuned. The metal voyage begins this year,” he noted.

William Shatner Is Living His Best Life At 95

Shatner remains as active as ever, even at 95 years old. Apart from music, he is also busy with other projects in entertainment.

He continues to host and executive produce History Channel’s “The UnXplained,” which is currently in its eighth season. Moreover, he is releasing a new memoir late this year. Shatner has also been busy going on tours and conventions for “Star Trek.”

Shatner and The *uckers will be performing at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois, on September 20, the third day of Riot Fest.

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Sister Wives star Maddie Brown is sharing her list of things her children “will never be exposed to” at home after growing up in a polygamist household.

“I knew at 13 years old that I didn’t want the life I was living,” Maddie, 30, confessed via an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, July 14. “I couldn’t change my circumstances then, but I could decide, with full certainty, what I would and wouldn’t carry forward.”

Janelle Brown and ex-husband Kody Brown’s eldest daughter noted that she made her non-negotiable rules for her children “long before they were born” and she’s sticking to them.

For starters, Maddie vowed her and husband Caleb Brush’s kids would have “no instability where there should be stability.”

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“No fear where there should be safety. No secrets where there should be honesty. No chaos disguised as normal,” Maddie wrote.

The TLC personality admitted, “It takes a lot of intention to not repeat patterns. It’s not natural. It’s something I had to learn, and something I have to keep choosing, especially on the hard days.”

Maddie, who had three additional mothers growing up in polygamy, noted that she’s doing her part to stop the experiences she didn’t like as a child from continuing.

“But it ends with me. That part was decided a long time ago, and I’ve never once looked back on it,” she concluded. “Who else out there is breaking patterns for their family?”

Maddie is one of dad Kody’s 18 children from four different wives. TLC fans were introduced to her unconventional family in 2010 when Sister Wives premiered.

At the time, Kody, 57, was married to Meri Brown, Janelle, 57, and Christine Brown, and was courting Robyn Brown, who later became his fourth wife.

Kody welcomed one child with Meri, 55, during their more than 30-year marriage. He shares six children with both Janelle and Christine, 54. (Janelle and Kody’s son Garrison died by suicide in March 2024 at the age of 25.)

Kody legally divorced first wife Meri in 2014 to legally wed Robyn, 47, and adopt her three children from a prior marriage. Kody and Robyn later welcomed two kids of their own, bringing his total to 18.

In November 2021, Christine announced her split from Kody after more than 20 years in a spiritual marriage. Janelle followed, confirming her separation from the patriarch in December 2022. Meri announced in January 2023 that she and Kody were no longer a couple.

As Kody’s elder children have gotten married, many of them have opted for monogamous relationships, including Maddie.

Maddie married Caleb, 39, in June 2016. The couple have since welcomed four children: son Axel and daughters Evie, Joey and Emilia.

“My childhood was chaotic in ways I’ve spent my entire adult life making sense of and choosing to build something completely different from,” Maddie revealed in June, reflecting on her upbringing.

Related: A Look Back at Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown and Ex Kody Brown’s Relationship

Sister Wives‘ Janelle Brown and Kody Brown’s plural marriage was anything but conventional ahead of their 2022 split. Janelle and Kody’s lives were intertwined well before they spiritually tied the knot in 1993. Janelle’s late mom, Sheryl Brown, and Kody’s dad, William Winn Brown, were married for years before William’s death in 2013, making the eventual […]

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She explained in an Instagram post at the time that after getting married young, welcoming her eldest child at 21 and moving across the country when she was 23, she “found something I didn’t grow up with” and that was “peace.”

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“Not the absence of chaos but with the presence of it and the ability to choose calm anyway,” Maddie wrote.

She added that throughout her 10-year marriage, she has slowly figured out who she is as a person.

“I’m a halfway homesteader. A deeply intentional mom,” Maddie shared. “A woman who is still figuring out what peace looks like in practice and thinks that process is worth talking about out loud.”

Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton are spending some quality time together during a cozy getaway to a lakeside destination.

“Hold your people close 🫂,” the F1 driver, 41, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, July 16, alongside a carousel of images.

Hamilton’s post included multiple photos of him with Kardashian. In one snap, Hamilton and Kardashian posed with two of her children — Chicago, 8, and Psalm, 7 — as the group stood in front of a lake during sunset. (In addition to Chicago and Psalm, Kardashian shares daughter North, 13, and son Saint, 10, with ex-husband Kanye West.)

The racer also shared a sweet snap of himself and Kardashian while on a boat. The couple gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes and held hands as they enjoyed the water.

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A subsequent video also showed the pair goofing around on the boat. Hamilton and Kardashian — who were wearing life vests — laughed as they hugged each other before falling off the vessel.

An additional photo featured Hamilton and Kardashian taking a stroll in nature. While walking down the trail, Hamilton had his arm around the Skims founder.

Kardashian “liked” the post and commented with a single red heart emoji.

Earlier this week, Kardashian posted a sweet selfie with Hamilton as they enjoyed time together while at a lake.

“Summers at the lake with my favorite people,” she wrote via Instagram on Monday, July 13, alongside a selfie of her, the athlete and daughter Chicago.

Us Weekly confirmed earlier this year that Hamilton and Kardashian, who had been longtime friends, had begun pursuing a romance. The pair had been spotted on multiple outings together including Super Bowl LX. Last month, an insider told Us that Hamilton had “spent time” with the reality star’s children.

“Lewis loves kids so it’s been fun for him,” the source explained. “The kids think Lewis is really cool, especially Chicago and Saint, who are completely fascinated by the fact that he drives race cars for a living.”

Kardashian subtly hard-launched her relationship with Hamilton last month. In her photo dump, Kardashian included a clip that featured Hamilton as the twosome enjoyed a bike ride.

“Lately,” she captioned the post.

Following the hard-launch, Hamilton made a rare comment about Kardashian after a fan asked the athlete if a “girlfriend” was the reason why he appeared to be a “happier man” lately.

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“Yeah, that’s a good one,” Hamilton said with a laugh.

After talking about his excitement to be on Ferrari’s team, Hamilton gave Kardashian a sweet shoutout.

“And of course, of course it’s Kim,” he added.

Kim Zolciak’s daughter Brielle Biermann is unsure if adopted father Kroy Biermann will be in attendance at her upcoming wedding to Billy Seidl.

“I haven’t really spoken to Kroy,” Brielle, 29, said in an interview with TMZ on Wednesday, July 15. “[It’s] in the air, it’s ever changing.”

She teased on Wednesday that the couple’s nuptials will be taking place “soon” and will be near “the beach.”

Brielle’s disconnect from Kroy, 40, stems from his ongoing divorce from Zolciak, 48. The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum and Kroy split in 2023. The exes have been battling over custody of their four minor children — KJ, 15, Kash, 13, and twins Kaia and Kane, 12 — while also accusing each other of neglect, abuse and more. (In addition to Brielle, Zolciak is mother to daughter Ariana, whom she welcomed from a previous relationship. Kroy adopted both Brielle and Ariana in 2013, two years after he and Zolciak tied the knot.)

Related: Brielle Biermann Is ‘Not Taking Sides’ in Parents Kim, Kroy’s Messy Divorce

Brielle Biermann is remaining neutral after previously siding with her mom, Kim Zolciak-Biermann, in the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum’s messy divorce from estranged husband Kroy Biermann. “Everybody knows that Brielle and Kim’s bond is unbreakable, so it was natural for her to take her mom’s side when they filed for divorce,” an insider exclusively […]

Back in May, a judge granted Kory temporary primary physical custody of the four minor children. He is allowed to give the final say on the kids’ educational, non-emergency medical and religious decisions, per court documents obtained by Us Weekly at the time.

Amid her parents ongoing issues, Brielle has stood by her mom’s side.

“My mom doesn’t deserve to not have custody of the kids and I stand on that,” she told the outlet on Wednesday.

Brielle gave her mom credit for raising her and Ariana as “good kids.” She also gave Kroy props but acknowledged that her mom “was there a lot longer.”

“I don’t agree with a lot of things that he’s done and I just really want to leave it at that. I don’t agree,” she shared. “My mom doesn’t deserve to be in this situation.”

Brielle added that she “100 percent” has her mom’s back.

“That’s my girl,” she gushed.

Brielle and Seidl got engaged in February 2024 after dating for nearly one year.

“Forever with you 🤍🥹🫀🫶🏻,” she captioned a series of Instagram photos, including a shot of the baseball player down on one knee.

Zolciak immediately shared her excitement for her daughter and future son-in-law following the couple’s announcement.

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“I’m so happy for @briellebiermann @bseidl21 nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids happy! 💍,” the reality star wrote via Instagram in February 2024. “It’s the best feeling EVER!! Love you both to the moon and back and look forward to alllll the years to come 🙏🏻❤️😍.”

During a social media Q&A post-proposal, Brielle confirmed that Seidl got Kroy’s blessing before popping the question.

“Yes, [Seidl] asked Kroy,” Brielle confirmed. “He actually asked Kroy a while ago.”

90 Day Fiancé’s Armando Niedermeier-Rubio is setting the record straight on why he can’t be with his daughter during her hospital stay.

“I went to the border. The hospital directly sensed the gravity of the situation, how Hannah was being airlifted to Phoenix ICU,” Armando, 37, who currently resides in Mexico, explained via Instagram on Thursday, July 16. “They sent all the necessary documents to the border. When I arrived at the border, I arrived with my documents as well.”

While his 13-year-old daughter was able to go from Mexico to Arizona to seek further medical care, Armando claimed he was forced to stay put.

“Never was the letter from the hospital reviewed and never were any of my documents asked of me — nothing was checked,” he claimed. “I was just told, ‘Nope, we do not do this here. … There’s no option for you,’ and on my way I went.”

The TLC reality star continued, “We do have an immigration attorney who is on it and we’re seeing other options and ways to hopefully get me to Hannah because this is a difficult part for me. I know she needs me and I need her.”

Earlier in the day, Armando’s husband, Kenny Niedermeier, was able to reunite with his stepdaughter and share an update from her hospital room.

“Hannah told me to tell you all, thank you for all the love she is receiving from all of you,” Kenny, 63, wrote via Instagram on Thursday. “She is truly touched and shocked by it all. It means the world to all of us! ❤️ #hannah90day #kennyandarmando #healing #love #support.”

According to Armando, seeing Kenny with Hannah “brings me some comfort.”

When asked by a social media follower why his mom and sister were able to “get through” during the ordeal, Armando replied, “They are legal residents of the USA. I am not.”

Earlier this week, Armando detailed the moment he noticed his daughter’s face was “droopy — half of her face — and her lips and stuff.”

“Half of her body had no strength. So [I] immediately took her to the doctor,” he shared via Instagram on Tuesday, July 14. “When we got to the doctor, they did tell us her levels were normal in the sense of no high blood pressure. Which was strange to the doctor because she said usually with stuff like this, she knew with the symptoms that it was something with the brain, but it was strange given her age and also the fact that she didn’t have high blood pressure, which would be a huge symptom for that.”

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Viewers met Kenny and Armando on season 2 of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way in 2019. The couple met in an online support group for gay fathers. After dating long distance, Kenny moved to Mexico to be with Armando.

Since Hannah’s hospitalization, a GoFundMe page has been created to help raise funds for medical bills and travel expenses.

“I’m honestly embarrassed to ask for help,” Armando wrote via his Instagram Story on Wednesday, July 15. “If you’re able to donate, it would mean the world to us. Medical bills are piling up, and every little bit truly helps. If you’re not able to donate, even sharing this would mean so much. Please only do what you can. Thank you for your love, prayers and support.”

The Alien franchise has made some interesting pivots in recent years. Ridley Scott‘s prequel films have largely been abandoned, Alien: Romulus attempted to bridge the gap between the first and second installments, and Alien: Earth has served as an interesting franchise departure by bringing the xenomorph to television (and Earth, too). While all of these films have departed from the Sigourney Weaver-led originals in some form, only one franchise installment has proven that Ellen Ripley can remain at the center without actually being present — if you’ve never given Alien: Isolation a shot, this interquel video game is ripe for adaptation.

‘Alien: Isolation’ Is a Terrifying ‘Alien’ Prequel That Should Be the Basis for the Franchise on Television

Released back in 2014, the survival horror sci-fi game follows Amanda Ripley (Andrea Deck), the daughter of the franchise’s main heroine who has long wondered what became of her mother and the Nostromo. Set fifteen years after the events of Alien, Amanda is offered the chance at closure by Weyland-Yutani, sending her to the Sevastopol space station where the flight recorder from her mother’s mission resides. But when Amanda is separated from the rest of the crew, it isn’t long before things go from bad to worse. Unsurprisingly, another xenomorph is on the loose, and with barely any power to keep the lights on, the dark and eerie corridors of the space station become breeding grounds for jump scares and alien antics. Of course, if you thought that a xenomorph was the only threat here in Isolation, you’d be wrong, because there are several synthetic threats as well, in the form of the Sevastopol‘s murderous android inhabitants.

Amanda Ripley is a worthy successor to her mother’s mantle. She’s resourceful, determined, and quite strong-willed, though she wrestles with the uncertainty and grief that come with losing her mother so young. There’s a heroic streak in her, as she’s willing to help others and even sacrifice herself if necessary to keep others alive, though she remains capable in her own survival skills, willing to lie in wait while chaos occurs around her. In many ways, it’s her mother’s absence that has made them so much alike, forcing Amanda to grow up without Ripley watching over her and, as eventually revealed in Aliens, living a full life in the time that Ripley was trapped among the stars. Since it’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever get a Sigourney Weaver-led Alien movie again — and we wouldn’t want her to be recast either — the best way to continue with the Ripley line going forward would be a straightforward Alien: Isolation adaptation.

To Make ‘Alien’ Scary Again, ‘Alien: Isolation’ Has the Answer

Now, we know what you’re thinking. Why adapt the video game when you could just tell a new story with Amanda at the center? That’s a fair point. But the folks at Creative Assembly hit sci-fi/horror gold here with Isolation, perfectly recapturing the look, feel, and overall atmosphere of the original Alien film by leaning into Scott’s overtly horror elements and generating an air of mystery. Not only is Amanda a great protagonist who deserves to return to the franchise at some point in the future, but Isolation is the sort of story that could truly bridge the narrative gap between Alien and Aliens in a way that Romulus just couldn’t. By stringing the story out into eight episodes, similar to what’s been done with Alien: Earth, horror fans and sci-fi aficionados alike would rejoice at the bold return to form that an Isolation adaptation could provide — there’s a reason Alien: Isolation 2 is currently in the works.

The Alien franchise has largely suffered from the same problems that The Terminator series had following Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Just like T2 prompted every subsequent sequel to try and recapture that action magic, so too did James Cameron‘s Aliens change things by transitioning the franchise away from sci-fi/horror to sci-fi/action. Since then, Scott’s Prometheus peppered in layers of philosophical commentary that have shifted it yet again, touching all recent installments like Earth. Romulus was the biggest return to form thus far, though Isolation could revive all that horror the franchise has yet to recover. Sure, cutscenes from Isolation were already used to create Alien: Isolation — The Digital Series, but that doesn’t mean that Amanda’s story couldn’t be front-and-center of another live-action continuation, especially if it’s made-for-streaming or television.

Well, it seems as though the existence of the self-absorbed, socially inept social media star has remained prolific for long enough that there’s finally a horror movie about it. Netflix‘s modern take on the psychological thriller, Influencer, captures Madison, played by Emily Tennant, on a seemingly glamorous but albeit rather lonely trip to Thailand. Along the way, after a series of unfortunate events regarding her elusive and noncommittal boyfriend, Madison tags along with a fellow backpacker, CW, played by Cassandra Naud. Rapidly, things are much darker and less “instagramable” than Madison would’ve hoped.

To illicit true unease from an audience is no easy feat. Of course, films often capture cheap fear through jump scares and other kitschy tropes, which, to be frank, could be reasonably expected from a modern low-budget thriller. Kurtis David Harder‘s Influencer, on the other hand, has a skillful methodology in its evocative and twisty plot. While yes, Madison as a character is objectively cringe-worthy, the way in which the story develops around her makes for a truly thrilling watch, or perhaps at times hate-watch.

Harder’s ‘Influencer’ Expertly Captures Deceptive Beauty

Image via Shudder

Madison meets CW in a resort bar. Or rather, Madison meets a natively-British nomad stumbling over an attempt to hit her at a resort bar, and CW swoops in to rescue her. She’s initially introduced as not only a protector but also a grounding emotional counterpart, bringing the ever-floaty Madison back down to earth. It’s revealed as they share an intimate walk that initially this trip was supposed to be for Madison and her boyfriend, thus making the solo trip a bit more dismal than it may appear. CW invites her on a hike, for reasons that aren’t quite clear, and while Madison films a cringe-worthy vlog at the mountain’s peak, it’s clear CW has a repulsion to those living on the grid. This seed seems to grow much deeper as the film moves forward. Madison doesn’t do anything without posting it, and CW evidently hates it.

After a wonderful night of drinking, eating, and more drinking, Madison returns home to her room, clearly ransacked, and her passport stolen. Once again, with perfect timing, CW takes suspiciously good care of her, offering her food, a place to stay, and a special surprise the following morning. Madison is now stuck in Thailand, and CW is all-powerful. She knows the area, she’s much more street-savvy, and seems to have a growing resentment toward Madison despite the inauthentic care she’s providing again and again. There’s something unmistakably bubbling underneath this. However, with such a gorgeous landscape and a seemingly unwavering hand of help, it’s difficult to put one’s finger on what exactly. Evidently, Harder has a certain flair in his directorial work, making this thriller incredibly unique and gripping.

In a scene that in another film would have registered as half-hazardously thrown together, Influencer excels in its attempt to capture true fear. CW takes Madison to a secluded island a few miles off the coast, where, as Madison put it, nobody will hear her scream. As they sit across from one another, CW tells Madison exactly what she’s going to do to her. It’s not a threat, rather a perfectly delivered, quiet promise. Without revealing exactly what happens, it’s hinted at prior to with a simple yet haunting image: In one of the logs, someone was seemingly keeping a day count. Five little scratches carved into the wood, ending abruptly.

In summary, Influencer packed a surprising punch, which mostly can be left up to the wonderful performances from both leads. They expressed an unending commitment to their characters, never once truly dipping past satire and into clichés. It would’ve been so easy for such modern themes to create a film that was nearly unwatchable. “Social media thriller” doesn’t exactly have the best ring to it. However, with Harder’s expert storytelling, Influencer was a truly thrilling watch.

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Release Date

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May 18, 2023

Runtime

92 minutes

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Director

Kurtis David Harder

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