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Michael McDowell

Michael McDowell

Writer · Died December 27, 1999, aged 49 · Enterprise, Alabama, USA

McDowell was born in Enterprise, Alabama. According to his biography in the 1985 edition of Toplin, McDowell lived in Medford, Massachusetts. He also maintained a residence in Hollywood with his sister Ann and adventurer-filmmaker Peter Lake. The biography described a typical day: McDowell "writes in the mornings and spends the rest of the day looking out of the window in hope that something interesting will happen" and "collects photographs of corpses". He specialized in collecting photographs of train-decapitation victims and plaques from baby caskets. McDowell's life partner of 30 years was the theatre historian and director Laurence Senelick. McDowell died in 1999 in Boston, Massachusetts from AIDS-related illness. His unfinished novel Candles Burning was "completed" by Tabitha King, wife of Stephen King, and published in 2006.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
June 1, 1950
Died
December 27, 1999 (aged 49)
From
Enterprise, Alabama, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 17 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Up 9% in 30 days

What are Michael McDowell's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
52%
Self
22%
Bonds
13%
Survival
6%
Power
5%
Ideas
3%
Guilt3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 3

Heightened: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their heightened movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 4

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Absurd
4
Dread
2
Joyful
2
Manic
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Fun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet1
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous2

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 Michael McDowell's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Michael McDowell'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, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Beetlejuice Beetlejuice(2024)

    Characters

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Cold Moon(2016)

    Novel

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Thinner(1996)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Bone Chillers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 1 episode · Teleplay

  • George Romero's Golden Tales 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Writer · Actor

  • The Nightmare Before Christmas(1993)

    Adaptation

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Stephen King's Golden Tales(1985)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Tales from the Darkside (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Writer

  • Tales from the Darkside: The Movie(1990)

    Screenplay · Writer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Tales from the Crypt(1989)

    Show 1 episode · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Monsters(1988)

    Show 2 episodes · Writer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows

  • Beetlejuice(1988)

    Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Attic Suite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Writer

  • Amazing Stories(1985)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows

  • The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Show 1 episode · Teleplay

  • Tales from the Darkside (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Show 13 episodes · Director · Writer

  • Untitled Beetlejuice 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Characters

Career shape

A full career of 17 titles, 16 of them dated from 1984 to 2024.

Biggest box office

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

$452M worldwide

Highest rated

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Midcredits 97th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 17: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting1 of 17: 0 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting17 of 17: 15 only writing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score65th

By decade

1980s7 · crew1990s7 · 1 acting · 7 crew2010s1 · crew2020s1 · crew

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 Michael McDowell's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 50th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 54th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · writer

Stephen King's Golden Tales (1985)

80th percentile spread · 29% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Midcredits 97th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 51/100 and the plot and story 44/100 in their films, across 6 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 Michael McDowell's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles42–87 · median 69 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles17–44 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles26–62 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles14–38 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles54–79 · median 60 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Michael McDowell work with?

People who share at least 2 of Michael McDowell's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Tim Burton shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers

Producers