David Mackenzie (born 10 May 1966) is a Scottish film director and co-founder of the Glasgow-based production company Sigma Films. He has made ten feature films including Young Adam (2003), Hallam Foe (2007), Perfect Sense (2011), and Starred Up (2013). In 2016, Mackenzie's film Hell or High Water premiered at Cannes and was theatrically released in the United States in August. In October 2016, Mackenzie boarded Damnation - a TV pilot for Universal & USA Network. Mackenzie also directed Outlaw King (2018), a historical film for Netflix. Mackenzie and his films have been described as not fitting neatly into any particular genre or type.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 10, 1966 (60)
- Scotland, UK
- Director, producer and writer
- 14 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
What are David Mackenzie'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 0 · Earnest 13
Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 9
A split, not a type: Grounded 9 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 7
Steady 3 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 10 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 9
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet8
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous3
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 David Mackenzie's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for David Mackenzie'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
25 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page.
Fuze(2025)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Relay(2024)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Homemade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Outlaw King(2018)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Malevolent(2018)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Hell or High Water(2016)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Starred Up(2013)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Citadel(2012)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Perfect Sense(2011)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Tonight You're Mine(2011)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all filmsLife in 24 fps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
I Love Luci (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Spread(2009)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
Hallam Foe(2007)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Asylum(2005)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Young Adam(2003)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
The Last Great Wilderness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Somersault (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Marcie's Dowry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Fragile (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Two Fingers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Wanting and Getting (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Dirty Diamonds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
The Stain on the Snow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 23 titles, 22 of them dated from 1994 to 2026.
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
3 major awards from 8 major nominations, 2003–2016.
- Cannes award, nominated
- Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Director
- Berlinale award, won · Best Film Music
- Berlinale award, won
- Berlinale award, nominated
- Berlinale award, won
- Berlinale award, nominated
- Cannes award, nominated
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 David Mackenzie's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 63rd percentile, the median of all 13; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 14 titles divides audiences: 8 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 13 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 David Mackenzie's work okay for kids?
Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, 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 David Mackenzie work with?
People who share at least 2 of David Mackenzie's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gillian Berrie shares the most, 10.
Actors
- James CosmoShared titles: Malevolent (2018), Outlaw King (2018), Citadel (2012)See all 3 shared titles with James Cosmo
- Aaron Taylor-JohnsonShared titles: Fuze (2025), Outlaw King (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Aaron Taylor-Johnson
- Sam WorthingtonShared titles: Fuze (2025), Relay (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Sam Worthington
- Chris PineShared titles: Outlaw King (2018), Hell or High Water (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Pine
Cinematographers and editors
- Giles NuttgensShared titles: Fuze (2025), Relay (2024), Hell or High Water (2016), Perfect Sense (2011), Tonight You're Mine (2011), Hallam Foe (2007), Asylum (2005), Young Adam (2003)See all 8 shared titles with Giles Nuttgens
- Jake RobertsShared titles: Outlaw King (2018), Hell or High Water (2016), Starred Up (2013), Citadel (2012), Perfect Sense (2011), Tonight You're Mine (2011)See all 6 shared titles with Jake Roberts
- Colin MonieShared titles: Hallam Foe (2007), Asylum (2005), Young Adam (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Colin Monie
- Matt MayerShared titles: Fuze (2025), Relay (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Matt Mayer
Producers
- Gillian BerrieShared titles: Fuze (2025), Relay (2024), Malevolent (2018), Outlaw King (2018), Starred Up (2013), Citadel (2012), Perfect Sense (2011), Tonight You're Mine (2011), Hallam Foe (2007), Young Adam (2003)See all 10 shared titles with Gillian Berrie
- Brian CoffeyShared titles: Malevolent (2018), Outlaw King (2018), Starred Up (2013), Citadel (2012), Perfect Sense (2011), Tonight You're Mine (2011)See all 6 shared titles with Brian Coffey
- Alexander O'NealShared titles: Fuze (2025), Starred Up (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Alexander O'Neal
- Danny McGrathShared titles: Fuze (2025), Outlaw King (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Danny McGrath
