Kurtis David Harder

Born in Calgary, Alberta,^[2] Harder began his career working as a cinematographer in 2017. He has also produced various feature films such as Still/Born (2017), What Keeps You Alive (2018), and V/H/S/94 (2021).^[1]

Harder has directed at least five feature films.^[1] Harder made his feature-length debut with Cody Fitz (2011).^[3][4] His second feature film, Incontrol, was released in 2017.^[5][6] Harder wrote the first draft of the screenplay for Incontrol in 2013.^[4]

Another feature film, Spiral, was released in 2019.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In 2022, he directed the feature film Influencer (2022), which was acquired and released by Shudder.^[11][12] Influencer had its world premiere on October 16, 2022, at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.^[13] Brandon Yu of The New York Times wrote, "Harder has made good and entertaining use of a premise that could have become a simple gimmick, and Naud and Saper prove strong leads as their characters try to read each other between the likes."^[14]

A sequel titled Influencers premiered at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival in July 2025. Cassandra Naud reprised her role from the first film.^[15][16] It was also the closing film at FrightFest, where it made its UK premiere in August 2025.^[17] The film will be released on Shudder on December 12, 2025, after screening as the closing night film at Blood in the Snow in Toronto.^[18][19]

In 2020, Harder was described by Wicked Horror "one of the most fascinating and inventive voices working in horror today."^[6]