Kier-La Janisse discovered her passion for horror movies at a young age. Her interest morphed into a multifaceted career. In 2010, She founded The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, which is a horror school. Kier-La has also written several books including,  A Violent Professional: The Films of Luciano Rossi (2007) and the acclaimed House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films(2012).

While she was in college majoring in Medieval Studies, Kier-La used some of her student loans and her income from working at a video store to launch the CineMuerte International Horror Film Festival. Due to her efforts with the festival she was able to bring greater awareness to lesser known films and directors that have as a result gone on to gain acclaim. Kier-La also programmed for the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin Texas, and was the subject of the documentary Celluloid Horror.  Her debut effort as a  director/producer, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror is due out from Severin Films in this year.