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Aaron Guzikowski

Aaron Guzikowski

Writer · Born January 29, 1974 (52) · Brockton, Massachusetts, USA

Writers Guild Award nominee

Aaron Guzikowski is an American screenwriter. He is best known for writing the 2013 film Prisoners and creating the 2014 television series The Red Road. In 2020, he created the HBO Max series Raised by Wolves. Description above from the Wikipedia article Aaron Guzikowski, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 29, 1974 (52)
From
Brockton, Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
4 on MovieCove · 7 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 155 days to Oct 26Down 32% in 30 days

What are Aaron Guzikowski's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
48%
Morality
16%
Survival
16%
Society
11%
Power
8%

What they feel like to watch

their average across 3 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 3

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

Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 3

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

Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

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

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1

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

Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1

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

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2

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

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Dread
2
Melancholic
1
Hopeful
1

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 Aaron Guzikowski's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Aaron Guzikowski'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

7 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page.

  • Raised by Wolves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Show 18 episodes · Creator · Executive Producer · Writer

  • Papillon(2017)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The Red Road(2014)

    Show Creator

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows

  • Prisoners(2013)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Contraband(2012)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • DEATH STRANDING MOSQUITO (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

  • The Dwelling (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Writer

Career shape

A full career of 7 titles, 5 of them dated from 2012 to 2020.

Biggest box office

Prisoners (2013)

$122M worldwide

Highest rated

Prisoners (2013)

Midcredits 99th

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing6 of 7: 5 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing1 of 7: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleOther crew2 of 7: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2010s4 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

Awards

Nominated for a Writers Guild Award in 2021, Episodic Drama.

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Aaron Guzikowski's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 88th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 82nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 4 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 4 titles divides audiences: 3 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser3

Most loved · writer

Prisoners (2013)

Midcredits 99th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 45/100 and the plot and story 53/100 in their films, across 3 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 Aaron Guzikowski's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 87 · severeMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 14 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 84 · severeMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 42 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 63 · intenseMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Aaron Guzikowski work with?

People who share at least 2 of Aaron Guzikowski's MovieCove titles; Mark Wahlberg shares the most, 2.