Kurtis David Harder Reveals Secrets Behind Influencers Sequel and Editing Process
Director Kurtis David Harder returns with Influencers, the follow-up to his breakout social media thriller. He opens up about the creative risks, unique editing methods, and the challenges of keeping audiences guessing in this exclusive interview.
In 2022, Kurtis David Harder’s thriller Influencer took audiences by surprise, flipping the script on what viewers expected from a social media suspense film. Now, Harder is back with Influencers, a sequel that broadens the story, raises the tension, and brings back the magnetic anti-hero CW, played by Cassandra Naud, for another round of sun-soaked deception in southern France.
Visual Motifs and Familiar Twists
We caught up with Harder to talk about the creative choices that set his films apart. When asked about the distinctive end credits—where the text splits along a horizon and shifts color, just like in the original—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 movie, 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 also feature a late title reveal, dropping the movie’s name about 30 minutes in. Harder shared,
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.
Playing With Time and Perspective
The sequel opens with CW living a dream life in France, and the timeline is intentionally unclear. Harder said,
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.
That sense of uncertainty keeps viewers on their toes, never quite sure where the story fits in the larger narrative or what’s coming next.
Innovative Editing and Indie Spirit
For this film, Harder handed editing duties to Rob Grant, a fellow director and frequent collaborator. Their process is unconventional: Grant edits without reading the script, piecing together the story based solely on the footage. Harder described it as,
One of the coolest things he does is he doesn’t read the script while he’s editing. He has no context for exactly what the plot is; obviously, he knows the general gist, but he receives all the footage and makes the first assembly edit based on what he thinks the footage is conveying. It was such a cool way to work, seeing him slowly unfold the story from what the footage was telling him, as opposed to my perspective, where I know what it’s supposed to be.
Despite the film’s grand look, the production was lean, with a crew of just 15. Harder explained,
The first one was inspired by Gareth Edwards’ Monsters, particularly the traveling aspect with a small group. We traveled 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.
Building Relationships and Staying True to Roots
Influencers also features Georgina Campbell, a notable addition to the cast. Harder shared how their friendship began at a film festival after she saw the first movie, leading to her joining the sequel in a role unlike any she’d played before.
Reflecting on his journey from directing his first feature at 18 to now, Harder said,
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 streams on Shudder starting December 12.