Writers/Directors Eshom and Ian Nelms, grew up in central California waging two hundred man G.I. Joe wars and dreaming in John Ford Landscapes. Though their evolving passions temporarily took them in different directions - Ian went to college on a wrestling scholarship, along the way discovering a new interest for English and Literature, and Eshom pursued an education in fine art painting, but found the illustration of comic books better suited to his tastes - the two would always find themselves returning to their love of film. While Ian has produced various projects independently and Eshom has worked as a professional storyboard artist for over a decade, the Nelms Brothers always write and direct together and have made multiple award-winning short and feature films. In 2013, their film 'Lost on Purpose' won numerous festival awards including Best Film, Best Directors and Best Actress for Jane Kaczmarek. In 2015, they debuted 'Waffle Street,' which went on to win Woodstock Film Festival's Inaugural Carpe Diem Award for Best Film as well as Best Narrative Film at the Hollywood Film Festival. The latest feature film by the Nelms Bros., 'Small Town Crime,' stars John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, Academy Award Winner Octavia Spencer (who was also an executive producer) Robert Forster, and Clifton Collins, Jr., The film was released in theaters nationwide on January 19th, 2018 and garnered great reviews from top critics at the NY Times, LA Times, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter among others. The Nelms Bros. also produce several projects together and, most recently, Eshom and Ian executive produced the series "Everyone is Doing Great," created by their longtime collaborator James Lafferty. Additionally, the Nelms Brothers are attached to direct the thriller, 'Capture,' for Thunder Road, the production company behind the successful 'John Wick' franchise which has garnered over $260 Million worldwide.
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Biography from IMDb.
- Director, writer and producer
- 7 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Eshom Nelms' films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 2 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 3 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
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 Eshom Nelms' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Eshom Nelms' 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
9 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.
Red Right Hand(2024)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Everyone Is Doing Great(2018)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all shows
The Caul (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Fatman(2020)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films
Small Town Crime(2017)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Waffle Street(2015)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
Lost on Purpose(2013)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
They Die by Dawn(2013)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Night of the Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles from 2005 to 2024.
Biggest box office
Fatman (2020)
Highest rated
Small Town Crime (2017)
Most popular right now
Red Right Hand (2024)
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 Eshom Nelms' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 40th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 37th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
2 of their 7 titles are Broadly Agreed.
- Universally Loved1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 66/100 and the pacing 54/100 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 Eshom Nelms' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 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 Eshom Nelms work with?
People who share at least 2 of Eshom Nelms' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ian Nelms shares the most, 5.
Directors
- Ian NelmsShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020), Small Town Crime (2017), Waffle Street (2015), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 5 shared titles with Ian Nelms
Actors
- James LaffertyShared titles: Small Town Crime (2017), Waffle Street (2015), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 3 shared titles with James Lafferty
- Jeremy RatchfordShared titles: Small Town Crime (2017), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Jeremy Ratchford
- Octavia SpencerShared titles: Small Town Crime (2017), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Octavia Spencer
- Dale DickeyShared titles: Waffle Street (2015), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Dale Dickey
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Johnny DerangoShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020), Small Town Crime (2017), Waffle Street (2015), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 5 shared titles with Johnny Derango
- Traton LeeShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020), Small Town Crime (2017), Waffle Street (2015), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 5 shared titles with Traton Lee
- Mondo BoysShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Mondo Boys
- Will VanderWydenShared titles: Waffle Street (2015), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Will VanderWyden
Producers
- Michelle LangShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020), Lost on Purpose (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Michelle Lang
- Alastair BurlinghamShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Alastair Burlingham
- Gary RaskinShared titles: Red Right Hand (2024), Fatman (2020)See all 2 shared titles with Gary Raskin
- Ben RosenblattShared titles: Fatman (2020), Small Town Crime (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Ben Rosenblatt
