Trey Edward Shults was born in Houston, Texas. In 2010, he made his directorial debut in the short film Mother and Son, which he also wrote, edited, and produced. It starred Krisha Fairchild and Lucas Quintana. In 2011 and 2012, Shults variously served as film loader, post-production intern, and intern, on three of Terrence Malick's films, Song to Song, Voyage of Time, and The Tree of Life. At the time, Shults was a business management student but dropped out to work on films and study films himself. In 2011, Shults wrote, directed, produced, and edited, a short film starring Krisha Fairchild, titled Two to One. In 2014, Shults directed, wrote, produced, edited, and appeared in Krisha, a short film starring Krisha, Robyn, and Billie Fairchild, all of whom are related to Shults. The following year, he directed, wrote, and acted in a feature-length adaptation of the same name, which premiered at South by Southwest in March 2015, winning the Grand Jury Award. The film is based upon a real-life incident involving Shults's cousin, who experienced a relapse at a family reunion. It was acquired by A24 and released in 2016. In March 2015, Shults signed with William Morris Endeavor. Shults also served as the camera PA on the 2016 film Midnight Special.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- October 6, 1988 (38)
- Houston, Texas, USA
- Director, editor, producer and writer
- 12 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
What are Trey Edward Shults' films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 4
Steady 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3
A split, not a type: Resolved 1 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
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 Trey Edward Shults' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Trey Edward Shults' 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
20 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.
Cape Fear(2026)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows
Hurry Up Tomorrow(2025)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Waves(2019)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
The Lighthouse(2019)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Shadow of a Gun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
It Comes at Night(2017)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Song to Song(2017)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films
Voyage of Time(2016)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
The Places We've Been Have Become All But Ghosts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Krisha(2015)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Midnight Special(2016)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Thunder Road (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Krisha (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
The Tree of Life(2011)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all filmsTwo to One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Mother and Son (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Altered States (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Sticks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 20 titles, 18 of them dated from 2010 to 2026.
Biggest box office
It Comes at Night (2017)
Highest rated
Waves (2019)
Most popular right now
It Comes at Night (2017)
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.
Awards
1 major award from 3 major nominations, 2015–2016.
- Independent Spirit Award, won
- Cannes award, nominated ×2
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 Trey Edward Shults' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 71st percentile, the median of all 10; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 70th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th4
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 12 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 73/100 and the pacing 34/100 in their films, across 4 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 Trey Edward Shults' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 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 Trey Edward Shults work with?
People who share at least 2 of Trey Edward Shults' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Justin R. Chan shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Kelvin Harrison Jr.Shared titles: Waves (2019), It Comes at Night (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Kelvin Harrison Jr.
- Krisha FairchildShared titles: Waves (2019), Krisha (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Krisha Fairchild
- Chase JolietShared titles: It Comes at Night (2017), Krisha (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Chase Joliet
Composers and cinematographers
- Brian McOmberShared titles: It Comes at Night (2017), Krisha (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Brian McOmber
- Drew DanielsShared titles: It Comes at Night (2017), Krisha (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Drew Daniels
Producers
- Justin R. ChanShared titles: Waves (2019), It Comes at Night (2017), Krisha (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Justin R. Chan
- Harrison KreissShared titles: Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), Waves (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Harrison Kreiss
- Kevin TurenShared titles: Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), Waves (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Turen
- Wilson SmithShared titles: It Comes at Night (2017), Krisha (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Wilson Smith