John Erick Dowdle (born December 9, 1972) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for horror films. He usually works with his brother Drew Dowdle as a producer and co-screenwriter. With his brother Drew Dowdle as a producer and/or co-screenwriter, John Erick Dowdle directed the horror films Quarantine, Devil, based on a storybook from M. Night Shyamalan, and As Above, So Below, as well as the 2015 thriller film No Escape. In 2017, Dowdle co-created the miniseries Waco with his brother, which aired on Paramount Network in 2018.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 9, 1972 (53)
- St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
- Director, writer, producer and editor
- 11 on Motif · 16 credits in all
What are John Erick Dowdle's films like?
Across their 9 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
Grounded 5 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 0 · Intense 6
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 3
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 4
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 3
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous2
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 John Erick Dowdle's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Paramount+ (4).
Subscription and free streaming for John Erick Dowdle's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif 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
16 credits, 11 with a Motif page.
Marshals(2026)
Motif score: 23rd percentile of all shows
Waco: The Aftermath(2023)
Motif score: 59th percentile of all shows
Joe Pickett(2021)
Motif score: 78th percentile of all shows
Waco(2018)
Motif score: 89th percentile of all shows
No Escape(2015)
Motif score: 69th percentile of all films
As Above, So Below(2014)
Motif score: 60th percentile of all films
Quarantine 2: Terminal(2011)
Motif score: 16th percentile of all films
Devil(2010)
Motif score: 47th percentile of all films
Transcendent Man(2009)
Motif score: 81st percentile of all films
Quarantine(2008)
Motif score: 38th percentile of all films
The Poughkeepsie Tapes(2007)
Motif score: 40th percentile of all films
The Dry Spell (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2005)
Doctor Caligari's Cabinet of Wonders (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Friday Night Lights (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Katakomben 2 (not in the Motif catalog yet)
School for Scumbags (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 15 titles, 11 of them dated from 2005 to 2026.
Biggest box office
Devil (2010)
Highest rated
Waco (2018)
Most popular right now
As Above, So Below (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 Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.
How do John Erick Dowdle's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 47th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser6
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 67/100 and the pacing 58/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; 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 Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif 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 John Erick Dowdle's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 Motif 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 John Erick Dowdle work with?
People who share at least 2 of John Erick Dowdle's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Drew Dowdle shares the most, 9.
Writers
- Drew DowdleShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), Waco (2018), No Escape (2015), As Above, So Below (2014), Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011), Devil (2010), Transcendent Man (2009), Quarantine (2008), The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)See all 9 shared titles with Drew Dowdle
- David ThibodeauShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), Waco (2018)See all 2 shared titles with David Thibodeau
- Leon WhitesonShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), Waco (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Leon Whiteson
- Jaume BalagueróShared titles: Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011), Quarantine (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Jaume Balagueró
Actors
- Michael ShannonShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), Waco (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Shannon
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Elliot GreenbergShared titles: No Escape (2015), As Above, So Below (2014), Devil (2010), Quarantine (2008), The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)See all 5 shared titles with Elliot Greenberg
- Léo HinstinShared titles: No Escape (2015), As Above, So Below (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Léo Hinstin
- Keefus CianciaShared titles: As Above, So Below (2014), The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Keefus Ciancia
- Shawn DufraineShared titles: Transcendent Man (2009), The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Shawn Dufraine
Producers
- David GlasserShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), Waco (2018)See all 2 shared titles with David Glasser
- Taylor KitschShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), Waco (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Taylor Kitsch
- Doug DavisonShared titles: Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011), Quarantine (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Doug Davison
- Roy LeeShared titles: Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011), Quarantine (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Roy Lee
Mixed roles
- Stacy ChboskyShared titles: Waco: The Aftermath (2023), The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)See all 2 shared titles with Stacy Chbosky
