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Erik Nelson

Erik Nelson

Director, producer and writer

Erik Nelson is a director and producer known for his frequent collaborations with Werner Herzog.

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
20 on MovieCove · 48 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 37 days to Oct 26Up 70% in 30 days

What are Erik Nelson's films like?

Across their 19 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
31%
Ideas
30%
Society
17%
Self
12%
Morality
6%
Power
3%
Bonds
2%
Survival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMemory3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 3 · Dark 5

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

Grounded 10 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

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

A split, not a type: Gentle 7 · Charged 3 · Intense 4

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

Steady 10 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 2

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

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

A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 3

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 8 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 5

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

Resolved 8 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
12
Tense
7
Melancholic
6
Hopeful
4
Dread
3
Other
14

How their films linger

Thought-provoking14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet5
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous10
  • Cyclical1

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 Erik Nelson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Erik Nelson'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

48 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page.

  • Bullets and Blueberries(2025)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Daytime Revolution(2024)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Bloody Hundredth(2024)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Apocalypse '45 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Director

  • Into the Cold Blue: Restoration and Reinvention (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director · as Himself

  • The Cold Blue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director

  • A Gray State(2017)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Origins: The Journey of Humankind(2017)

    Show Creator · Writer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • 9/11: The Longest War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • 9/10: The Final Hours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Producer

  • The 78 Project Movie(2014)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • JFK: The Final Hours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Writer

  • Street Dogs of South Central(2013)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Dinotasia(2012)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • On Death Row(2012)

    Show 8 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • Into the Abyss(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • History Specials: Engineering Evil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Cave of Forgotten Dreams(2010)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Monsters Resurrected(2009)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all shows

  • Dreams with Sharp Teeth(2008)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Nazi Scrapbooks from Hell: The Auschwitz Albums (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Writer

  • UFOs Over Earth(2008)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Encounters at the End of the World(2007)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Prehistoric Predators(2007)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows

  • Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man(2005)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The U.S. vs. John Lennon(2006)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • In the Edges: The 'Grizzly Man' Session (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Producer

  • Grizzly Man(2005)

    Executive Producer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Executive Producer

  • Return to Area 51(2002)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • UFO Over Illinois (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Executive Producer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Bigfoot & Witches (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Tornadoes & UFOs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Dreams and Nightmares (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Poltergeists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Witches (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Amelia Earhart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Big Foot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Curses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Producer · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Hollywood Hauntings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Jack the Ripper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Lake Monsters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Life After Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Nostradamus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Pearl Harbor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: The Titanic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director · Writer

  • Secrets of the Unknown: Tornadoes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Producer · Writer

  • Backstage Pass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 41 titles from 1982 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

$8.3M worldwide

Highest rated

Grizzly Man (2005)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Origins: The Journey of Humankind (2017)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing20 of 41: 9 only directing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdWriting19 of 41: 4 only writing, 15 with another roleProducing19 of 41: 8 only producing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score86thOther crew2 of 41: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

41 titles, 18 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

1980s17 · crew2000s8 · crew2010s12 · crew2020s4 · 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 Erik Nelson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 90th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

87thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th5
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 20 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed8

Most divisive · producer

Street Dogs of South Central (2013)

93rd percentile spread · 19% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Grizzly Man (2005)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 49/100 in their films, across 10 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.

Who does Erik Nelson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Erik Nelson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dave Harding shares the most, 12.

Directors

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles