From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. John Lafia (April 2, 1957 - April 29, 2020) was an American film and television writer, director, and producer. He attended UCLA, where he received his Bachelors in Film. Lafia's first film was The Blue Iguana, which he wrote and directed. It was also screened out of competition at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. He later went on to co-write the screenplay for 1988's Child's Play and direct Child's Play 2 (1990), as well as both writing and directing 1993's Man's Best Friend. In recent years he has transitioned to television, first directing a number of Babylon 5 episodes. He has also written and directed the NBC miniseries 10.5 and its sequel 10.5: Apocalypse. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Lafia, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 2, 1957
- April 29, 2020 (aged 63)
- USA
- Director, writer and producer
- 13 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
What are John Lafia's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
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
Ironic 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 3
Grounded 1 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 7
Steady 0 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 3
Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 0
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet6
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 John Lafia's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for John Lafia'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
17 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page.
Child's Play(2019)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
10.5: Apocalypse(2006)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows
10.5(2004)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all shows
Code 11-14 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
The Rats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Dead Zone(2002)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all shows
Chameleon 3: Dark Angel(2000)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Monster! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Babylon 5(1993)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Man's Best Friend(1993)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Child's Play 2(1990)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Child's Play(1988)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Monsters(1988)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows
Freddy's Nightmares (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
The Blue Iguana(1988)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Repo Man(1984)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 16 titles from 1984 to 2006.
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 John Lafia's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 30th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 31st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 13 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the atmosphere 59/100 and the pacing 53/100 in their films, across 6 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 John Lafia'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 John Lafia work with?
People who share at least 2 of John Lafia's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; David Foreman shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Don ManciniShared titles: Child's Play (2019), Child's Play 2 (1990), Child's Play (1988)See all 3 shared titles with Don Mancini
- Tom HollandShared titles: Child's Play (2019), Child's Play (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Holland
- Ronnie ChristensenShared titles: 10.5 (2004), Chameleon 3: Dark Angel (2000)See all 2 shared titles with Ronnie Christensen
Actors
- Brian MarkinsonShared titles: Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Markinson
- David CubittShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with David Cubitt
- John CassiniShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), Man's Best Friend (1993)See all 2 shared titles with John Cassini
- Kim DelaneyShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Kim Delaney
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- David ForemanShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone (2006), 10.5 (2004), Chameleon 3: Dark Angel (2000)See all 4 shared titles with David Foreman
- Don BrochuShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Don Brochu
- Henning LohnerShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Henning Lohner
- Michael N. KnueShared titles: 10.5 (2004), Man's Best Friend (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Michael N. Knue
Producers
- Michael JaffeShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), Firestorm: Last Stand at Yellowstone (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Michael Jaffe
- Gary PearlShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Gary Pearl
- Howard BraunsteinShared titles: 10.5: Apocalypse (2006), 10.5 (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Howard Braunstein
- David KirschnerShared titles: Child's Play 2 (1990), Child's Play (1988)See all 2 shared titles with David Kirschner
