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Natalie Erika James

Natalie Erika James

Director and writer · Born February 23, 1990 (36) · USA

Natalie Erika James (born 23 February 1990) is an American-Australian writer-director, born in the US and raised in Melbourne. Her 2016 short, Creswick, premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival, and was awarded the 2017 AWGIE Award for Best Short Form screenplay by the Australian Writer’s Guild. Her debut feature, the psychological horror film Relic, starring Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote and Robyn Nevin, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight program.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 23, 1990 (36)
From
USA
Works as
Director and writer
Titles
3 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 13% in 30 days

What are Natalie Erika James' films like?

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

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
34%
Survival
20%
Bonds
17%
Power
12%
Morality
8%
Society
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

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

Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · 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 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1

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

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

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 0 · Heavy 3

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 0 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Dread
2
Melancholic
2
Absurd
1
Cathartic
1

How their films linger

Haunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

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 Natalie Erika James' films?

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

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Natalie Erika James' 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

10 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page.

  • Saccharine(2026)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • Apartment 7A(2024)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Relic(2020)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • Drum Wave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Writer

  • Creswick (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer

  • Under the Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    First Assistant Director · Producer

  • Burrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director · Editor · Screenplay

  • We've All Been There (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Third Assistant Director

  • Tritch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Ascension (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 10 titles, 9 of them dated from 2011 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Relic (2020)

$2.9M worldwide

Highest rated

Saccharine (2026)

Midcredits 43rd

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing7 of 10: 0 only directing, 7 with another roleWriting7 of 10: 0 only writing, 7 with another roleProducing4 of 10: 1 only producing, 3 with another roleEditing2 of 10: 0 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew2 of 10: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

10 titles, 8 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 7 of them.

By decade

2010s6 · crew2020s3 · crew

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

How do Natalie Erika James' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 46th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Approval · how many liked their films

32ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 3

Midcredits score across 3 titles, by percentile

  • 25th to 49th3

Shape of the crowd

None of their 3 titles divides audiences: 3 are Broadly Agreed.

  • Broadly Agreed3

Most loved · director, writer, producer

Saccharine (2026)

Midcredits 43rd · 36% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 37/100 in their films, across 3 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 Natalie Erika James' 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 64 · intenseMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 28 · mildMedian of all films: 32
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 72 · 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 Natalie Erika James work with?

People who share at least 2 of Natalie Erika James' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Christian White shares the most, 2.

Writers

Cinematographers and editors

Producers