Matthew Bright (born June 8, 1952) is a former film director, writer and actor. Bright is notable for writing and directing the 1996 exploitation film Freeway and its 1999 direct-to-video sequel. Description above from the Wikipedia article Matthew Bright, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 6, 1952 (74)
- Writer, director and actor
- 9 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Matthew Bright's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 4 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 2 · Dark 4
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 5
Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 5
Steady 1 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 2
A split, not a type: Casual 4 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Matthew Bright's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
- Freeway (1996) · director, writer · free
- Forbidden Zone (1980) · actor, writer · free
- Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994) · writer · free
- Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999) · director, writer · free
- Ted Bundy (2002) · director, writer · free
- Guncrazy (1992) · writer · free
- Shrunken Heads (1994) · writer · free
Subscription and free streaming for Matthew Bright's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Tomb of Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Tiptoes(2002)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Ted Bundy(2002)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films
Modern Vampires(1998)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Freeway(1996)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Dark Angel: The Ascent(1994)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Shrunken Heads(1994)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Guncrazy(1992)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Wildfire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Forbidden Zone(1980)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Starhops (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles from 1978 to 2004.
Film career
- 1982Screen debut· Forbidden Zone
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Matthew Bright's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 32nd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 36th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 9 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the dialogue 48/100 and the plot and story 39/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Matthew Bright's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Matthew Bright work with?
People who share at least 2 of Matthew Bright's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Brad Wyman shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Richard ElfmanShared titles: Modern Vampires (1998), Shrunken Heads (1994), Forbidden Zone (1980)See all 3 shared titles with Richard Elfman
Actors
- Michael T. WeissShared titles: Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999), Freeway (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Michael T. Weiss
- Natasha LyonneShared titles: Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999), Modern Vampires (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Natasha Lyonne
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Kennard RamseyShared titles: Ted Bundy (2002), Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Kennard Ramsey
- Paul HeimanShared titles: Ted Bundy (2002), Tiptoes (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Heiman
- Sonja RomShared titles: Ted Bundy (2002), Tiptoes (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Sonja Rom
- Danny ElfmanShared titles: Freeway (1996), Forbidden Zone (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Danny Elfman
Producers
- Brad WymanShared titles: Tiptoes (2002), Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999), Modern Vampires (1998), Freeway (1996)See all 4 shared titles with Brad Wyman
- Chris HanleyShared titles: Tiptoes (2002), Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999), Modern Vampires (1998), Freeway (1996)See all 4 shared titles with Chris Hanley
- Charles BandShared titles: Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999), Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994), Shrunken Heads (1994)See all 3 shared titles with Charles Band
- Donald KushnerShared titles: Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999), Freeway (1996)See all 2 shared titles with Donald Kushner
