Unnamed Footage Festival 2025: ‘The Rebrand’ sets fire to influencer culture

We all know at least one YouTuber or TikTok star who’s been canceled. For whatever reason, their legion of adoring fans turns on them. There’s usually no way coming back from that, but a well-meaning comeback tour typically includes a staged apology. Fans scoff, and the brand goes under. Thistle (Nancy Webb) and her partner Blair (Andi E. McQueen) undergo a similar situation in Kaye Adelaide’s The Rebrand, playing this year’s Unnamed Footage Festival. Adelaide, who co-wrote the script with Webb, manages to craft a glaring glimpse into the lifestyle of fake influencers who’ll do anything for views and likes. It’s most effective in its earnest performances from its central cast, giving way to a character collapse in plain view.

Thistle, a Samara Weaving-coded character, if I’ve ever seen one, calculates her every move and manipulates Blair to get whatever is perfect for the brand. Conversely, Blair possesses a childlike naivety, always trying to keep the peace and kowtowing to Thistle’s every whim. Their relationship is perfect in front of the camera; they are the perfect lesbian couple. But behind closed doors, the power dynamics cause fissures between them, tiny cracks that stretch through the foundation of their affection for one another.

To save their brand, Thistle suggests making a documentary about their growing lives, so they hire a freelance videographer named Nicole (Naomi Silver-Vézina). Nicole is eight and a half months pregnant, and Thistle is absolutely overjoyed. Nicole arrives to much fanfare and immediately starts recording the couple going about their daily lives. It’s an easy enough set-up, and Nicole is being paid quite handsomely. As the day marches on, Thistle suggests she spend the night (for which she’ll be paid, even when sleeping). She initially turns down the offer, but after some prodding, she’s convinced that just one night won’t hurt. What begins as an innocuous offer (turning into an impressive $20,000 check) transforms into a sinister, manipulative plan to get what Thistle wants. She wants a family, and she’ll do anything to get it.

Adelaide and Webb create a world that’s so posh and polished you can’t wait for it all to come crashing down around Thistle and Blair. The script remains taut from start to bloody finale. Every performer has plenty of meat on the bone to consume as their character arcs crescendo and collide. For her part, Silver-Vézina’s Nicole is a refreshing inclusion, as she’s grounded and real as things escalate around her. She’s innately a good person and only took the gig for the quick paycheck. The shimmering veneer conceals a greater truth and darker reality than even Nicole could have predicted. But there’s always something off. Nothing is perfectly perfect all the time.

The Rebrand arrives amidst an ongoing tidal wave of influencer-based horror. From Shudder’s Influencer to Amp House Massacre, Superhost, Livestream, and countless more, the genre is littered with various takes and perspectives. What sets Adelaide’s film apart is its commitment to the deranged and how being chronically online can drive you mad. The rat race of chasing validation creates a damaged sense of self-worth, always filtered through comments of others. A damn good time, The Rebrand emerges as a personal favorite out of Unnamed Footage Festival this year. Don’t sleep on it.