James DeMonaco (born October 12, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for creating the Purge franchise, writing all five films in the series and directing the first three, The Purge (2013), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), and The Purge: Election Year (2016).
Biography from TMDB.
- October 12, 1969 (57)
- Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- Writer, producer and director
- 16 on MovieCove · 23 credits in all
What are James DeMonaco's films like?
Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 2 · Earnest 11
Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 9
Grounded 6 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 10
Steady 3 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 3
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 7
Casual 3 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 9 · Heavy 3
Resolved 13 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet11
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 James DeMonaco's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (5).
Subscription and free streaming for James DeMonaco'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
23 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
The Home(2025)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Crisis Negotiators(2024)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
This Is the Night(2021)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
The Forever Purge(2021)
Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films
Haunted(2018)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all shows
The Purge(2018)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
The First Purge(2018)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
The Purge: Election Year(2016)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
The Purge: Anarchy(2014)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
The Purge(2013)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Little New York(2009)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Crash(2008)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all shows
The Kill Point (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Skinwalkers(2006)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Assault on Precinct 13(2005)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all filmsHate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Ryan Caulfield: Year One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
The Negotiator(1998)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Jack(1996)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all filmsRed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Untitled Purge Sequel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled The Purge Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Vigilant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 23 titles, 20 of them dated from 1994 to 2025.
Biggest box office
The First Purge (2018)
Highest rated
The Negotiator (1998)
Most popular right now
The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
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 James DeMonaco's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 37th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 40th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 16 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed8
Reviewers score the dialogue 42/100 and the plot and story 41/100 in their films, across 13 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 James DeMonaco's work okay for kids?
Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does James DeMonaco work with?
People who share at least 2 of James DeMonaco's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sébastien K. Lemercier shares the most, 9.
Writers
- Kevin FoxShared titles: Crisis Negotiators (2024), The Negotiator (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Fox
Actors
- Frank GrilloShared titles: This Is the Night (2021), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Frank Grillo
- Edwin HodgeShared titles: The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Edwin Hodge
- Ethan HawkeShared titles: The Purge (2013), Little New York (2009), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)See all 3 shared titles with Ethan Hawke
- Ethan PhillipsShared titles: The Home (2025), The Purge: Election Year (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Ethan Phillips
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Nathan WhiteheadShared titles: The Home (2025), This Is the Night (2021), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013)See all 5 shared titles with Nathan Whitehead
- Todd E. MillerShared titles: The Home (2025), The Forever Purge (2021), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014)See all 4 shared titles with Todd E. Miller
- Anastas N. MichosShared titles: The Home (2025), This Is the Night (2021), The First Purge (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Anastas N. Michos
- Jacques JouffretShared titles: The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Jacques Jouffret
Producers
- Sébastien K. LemercierShared titles: The Home (2025), The Forever Purge (2021), This Is the Night (2021), The First Purge (2018), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013), Little New York (2009), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)See all 9 shared titles with Sébastien K. Lemercier
- Jason BlumShared titles: The Forever Purge (2021), This Is the Night (2021), The First Purge (2018), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013)See all 6 shared titles with Jason Blum
- Andrew FormShared titles: The Forever Purge (2021), The First Purge (2018), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013)See all 5 shared titles with Andrew Form
- Brad FullerShared titles: The Forever Purge (2021), The First Purge (2018), The Purge: Election Year (2016), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), The Purge (2013)See all 5 shared titles with Brad Fuller
