Justin Kelly is an American film writer and director, best known for his feature films JT Leroy, Welcome The Stranger, I Am Michael and King Cobra. Prior to developing his own films, he spent years working under producers, directors, and editors, directed short films and music videos, and worked as a narrative feature film editor and screenwriter.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 1, 1980 (46)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Director, writer and producer
- 5 on MovieCove · 11 credits in all
What are Justin Kelly's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Power.
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 4
A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 2
Steady 0 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 1
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
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 Justin Kelly's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Justin Kelly'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
11 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
Pretty Thing(2025)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
JT LeRoy(2018)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Welcome the Stranger(2018)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
King Cobra(2016)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
I Am Michael(2015)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
The Wait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Maggots and Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Cryptic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Debris (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
B Movie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Young Lust (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 11 titles, 10 of them dated from 2004 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Pretty Thing (2025)
Highest rated
I Am Michael (2015)
Most popular right now
King Cobra (2016)
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 Justin Kelly's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 25th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 30th percentile for acclaim.
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 5 titles are Mixed.
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the atmosphere 62/100 and the pacing 31/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
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 Justin Kelly's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Justin Kelly work with?
People who share at least 2 of Justin Kelly's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tim Kvasnosky shares the most, 4.
Actors
- Alicia SilverstoneShared titles: Pretty Thing (2025), King Cobra (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Alicia Silverstone
- Rosemary HowardShared titles: Welcome the Stranger (2018), King Cobra (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Rosemary Howard
- James FrancoShared titles: King Cobra (2016), I Am Michael (2015)See all 2 shared titles with James Franco
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Tim KvasnoskyShared titles: JT LeRoy (2018), Welcome the Stranger (2018), King Cobra (2016), I Am Michael (2015)See all 4 shared titles with Tim Kvasnosky
- Matt KlammerShared titles: Pretty Thing (2025), Welcome the Stranger (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Matt Klammer
- Aaron I. ButlerShared titles: JT LeRoy (2018), I Am Michael (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Aaron I. Butler
- Joshua Raymond LeeShared titles: Welcome the Stranger (2018), King Cobra (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Joshua Raymond Lee
Producers
- Jordan Yale LevineShared titles: Pretty Thing (2025), Welcome the Stranger (2018), King Cobra (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Jordan Yale Levine
- Scott LevensonShared titles: Pretty Thing (2025), Welcome the Stranger (2018), King Cobra (2016)See all 3 shared titles with Scott Levenson
- Jesse KormanShared titles: Pretty Thing (2025), Welcome the Stranger (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Jesse Korman
- Jed RootShared titles: JT LeRoy (2018), Welcome the Stranger (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Jed Root
