Kurtis David Harder Reveals the Art of Crafting a Sequel

In 2022, Kurtis David Harder’s social media thriller Influencer quietly became a cult favourite, upending expectations with its clever twists. Now, Harder returns with a follow-up, Influencers, which broadens the narrative, raises the tension, and sees the enigmatic CW (Cassandra Naud) back for another sun-soaked escapade in southern France.

Visual Motifs and Familiarity

We caught up with Harder to explore how he keeps audiences on their toes, the unusual editing methods he employs, and his commitment to the franchise’s distinctive look. When asked about the recurring end credits design, which mirrors the first film’s split-horizon motif, Harder explained,

‘Yeah, I think that horizon thing was fun. It’s like seeing two sides to a flipped coin. It was a bit of a play on the film, so doing it again was fun in a slightly different way. There are a bunch of things we’re doing in these reversals, especially with the second one, kind of like what we did with the first one, where we’re doing role reversals and switch-ups. It’s always fun to tie those in.’

Both films feature a delayed title reveal, arriving roughly half an hour in. Harder reflected on this structural choice, noting,

‘The first film was such an interesting experiment in structure. Modern audiences are remarkably astute, and they’ve seen it all. So when you’re looking to surprise an audience and have fun with big switch-ups and protagonist shifts… that was a big thing with the first one. With the second one, we’re taking light in that sense. It’s a little bit of cheeky fun, playing off of what happened in the first one.’

Timeline Ambiguity and Character Evolution

The sequel’s opening makes it difficult to pinpoint its place in the timeline, a deliberate move by Harder. He shared,

‘What was so exciting about coming into the sequel for me was when that idea clicked: you’re seeing CW in this new lifestyle. She’s living a fantasy life in southern France; we’re seeing her in a relationship; they’re planning their one-year anniversary… You don’t entirely know where in the grand scheme of things this timeline takes place. That, to me, is so fun when you’re doing a follow-up, playing into the idea that you don’t know. Could this be CW’s first kill? We don’t know.’

Harder also discussed the collaborative editing process with Rob Grant, who handled the edit for this instalment.

‘Rob Grant is such a talented filmmaker in his own right. We kind of co-edited both films. For this one, he was in Vancouver while we were in Bali. We would shoot all day, send him footage, and he’d edit while we were sleeping.’

Grant’s unique approach involves editing without reading the script, relying solely on the footage to guide his assembly. Harder found this method refreshing, as it allowed the story to emerge organically from the material.

Independent Filmmaking and Casting

Despite the film’s expansive feel, Harder managed with a remarkably small crew.

‘Yeah. The first one was inspired by Gareth Edwards’ Monsters, particularly the travelling aspect with a small group. We travelled all around Thailand with 11 people, including the cast. For this one, we wanted to keep that ethos. We expanded a bit, but for the most part, it was still under 15 people. That allowed us to do a very long shoot. I was on the road for almost five months. We were able to travel all over France and Bali. That’s not really possible when you have the full infrastructure of a normal shoot with 50 people.’

Securing Georgina Campbell for the sequel was a highlight. Harder recounted,

‘Georgina is so great. We met at a film festival at the third screening of the first film. She had heard about it, watched it, and we just became friends. I was like, “Hey, I’m doing another Influencer film. Do you want to play a very different character from anything you’ve played before?” It was very cool to have someone who’d seen the first film and become friends because of it.’

Reflections on Growth and Filmmaking

Reflecting on his journey since directing his debut feature at 18, Harder remarked,

‘I think I’m a very similar kid, still in a slightly older body. My first film was very much my film school; I got rejected from film school and ended up using the money to go make this drama. The general consensus is to continue grabbing a camera with your friends and keep making things. Even coming into this one, I was like, “You know what? Why don’t we just go with friends?” It’s just like, let’s grab a camera. We’re not doing much differently than what we were doing when we were 18.’

Influencers is available to stream on Shudder from 12 December.