
A native to Los Angeles, Mike Mendez was in the backyard making movies since the age of 10. At the age of 23, Mike made his first feature film "Killers," which was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. The film was picked up by Alpine Pictures, who distributed the feature in the U.S. The film also received a worldwide theatrical release. He followed that up with the horror comedy "The Convent," which was also accepted into the Sundance Film Festival in 2000, as well as over 30 other film festivals worldwide. The film was released by Lionsgate in the U.S. In 2002, he produced a documentary for Universal Television and Showtime entitled "Masters of Horror," featuring interviews with some of the genre's most legendary filmmakers. In 2006, Mike's film "The Gravedancers" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released in theaters nationally by Lionsgate & After Dark Films as part of "8 Films To Die For". Along with producing short films for X-box and working on the television series "Beavis & Butthead", Mike's newest film is "Big Ass Spider!" for Epic Pictures, which premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival. Starring "Heroes" alumni Greg Grunberg, it had a limited theatrical worldwide.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1973 (53)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Editor, director, actor, producer and writer
- 33 on MovieCove · 44 credits in all
What are Mike Mendez's films like?
Across their 31 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
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
A split, not a type: Ironic 11 · Wry 5 · Earnest 14
A split, not a type: Light 13 · Serious 11 · Dark 6
A split, not a type: Grounded 15 · Stylized 9 · Heightened 6
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 11 · Intense 14
Steady 9 · Shifting 13 · Whiplash 8
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 11 · Funny 8
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 16 · Relentless 7
Casual 18 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 16 · Affecting 11 · Heavy 3
Resolved 25 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet11
- Ambiguous12
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 Mike Mendez's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 27 of their 33 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (20).
- Satanic Hispanics (2022) · director, producer, editor · free
- Killers (1996) · director, writer · free
- Chillerama (2011) · actor · free
- Acceleration (2019) · editor · free
- Tales of Halloween (2015) · director, writer, producer · free
- A Deadly Lullaby (2020) · editor · free
- The Convent (2000) · director · free
- Against the Night (2017) · producer · free
- The Gravedancers (2006) · director, producer, editor · free
- Nightmare Cinema (2018) · editor · free
- Big Ass Spider! (2013) · director, editor · free
- Don't Kill It (2016) · director, editor · free
- +8 more
- Acceleration (2019) · editor
- Tales of Halloween (2015) · director, writer, producer
- The Convent (2000) · director
- Against the Night (2017) · producer
- Big Ass Spider! (2013) · director, editor
- Don't Kill It (2016) · director, editor
- The Devil's Trap (2024) · actor, director
- He Knows Your Every Move (2018) · editor · free
- Dead Ant (2017) · producer
- Don't Look Back (2020) · editor
- Unnatural (2015) · producer
- Satanic Hispanics (2022) · director, producer, editor · free
- Chillerama (2011) · actor · free
- A Deadly Lullaby (2020) · editor · free
- The Convent (2000) · director · free
- Big Ass Spider! (2013) · director, editor · free
- All American Christmas Carol (2013) · editor · free
- Lavalantula (2015) · director, writer, editor · free
- Unnatural (2015) · producer · free
- Midnight Pulp, show their 3 titles on Midnight Pulp
- Cineverse, show their 2 titles on Cineverse
- Screambox, show their 2 titles on Screambox
- FlixLatino, show their title on FlixLatino
- FUEL TV+, show their title on FUEL TV+
- Howdy, show their title on Howdy
- Indie Club, show their title on Indie Club
- Lifetime Movie Club, show their title on Lifetime Movie Club
- MovieSphere+, show their title on MovieSphere+
- ScreenPix, show their title on ScreenPix
Subscription and free streaming for Mike Mendez'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
44 credits, 33 with a MovieCove page; 7 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Grind(2026)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
The Devil's Trap(2024)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Slotherhouse(2023)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Satanic Hispanics(2022)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
San La Muerte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

The Traveler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Toys of Terror(2020)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Malignant(2021)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Critters Attack!(2019)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Don't Look Back(2020)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
A Deadly Lullaby(2020)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Acceleration(2019)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
The Shed(2019)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
He Knows Your Every Move(2018)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Nightmare Cinema(2018)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Snake Outta Compton(2018)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Against the Night(2017)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Beyond Brotherhood(2017)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Dead Ant(2017)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Don't Kill It(2016)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
The Last Heist(2016)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films
Terror Toons 3(2015)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Tales of Halloween(2015)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Lavalantula(2015)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Unnatural(2015)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films
Big Ass Spider!(2013)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Alaska Gold Diggers(2013)
Midcredits score: 2nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Tales from the Crypt: New Year's Shockin' Eve (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

Chillerama(2011)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
The Black Box (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Timo Rose's Beast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

Doggie Heaven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Chaplin the Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Strolling Into the Sunset (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
The Most Famous Man in the World! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

The Gravedancers(2006)
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Masters of Horror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

The Convent(2000)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Bimbo Movie Bash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

Killers(1996)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 38 titles from 1996 to 2026.

Biggest box office
The Gravedancers (2006)

Highest rated
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022)

Most popular right now
The Shed (2019)
Film career
- 2011Screen debut· Chillerama
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
Nominated for a Cannes award in 2026, Documentary Prize.
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 Mike Mendez's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 22nd percentile, the median of all 32; across their 30 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 21st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th19
Shape of the crowd
22 of their 33 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Universally Panned4
- Loved with Detractors1
- Divisive2
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Mixed22
Reviewers score the pacing 41/100 in their films, across 26 reviewed titles; fans 59, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.
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 Mike Mendez's work okay for kids?
Across up to 12 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore runs 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 Mike Mendez work with?
People who share at least 2 of Mike Mendez's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ron Carlson shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Ron CarlsonShared titles: Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (2026), Dead Ant (2017), Unnatural (2015), All American Christmas Carol (2013)See all 4 shared titles with Ron Carlson

- Hank BraxtanShared titles: Snake Outta Compton (2018), Against the Night (2017), Dead Ant (2017), Unnatural (2015)See all 4 shared titles with Hank Braxtan

- Alejandro BruguésShared titles: Satanic Hispanics (2022), Nightmare Cinema (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Alejandro Brugués

Actors
- Danny WoodburnShared titles: Dead Ant (2017), Lavalantula (2015), All American Christmas Carol (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Danny Woodburn

- Arielle BrachfeldShared titles: Snake Outta Compton (2018), Against the Night (2017), The 50 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Arielle Brachfeld

- Bruce DernShared titles: Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (2026), The Devil's Trap (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Bruce Dern

- Elissa DowlingShared titles: The Devil's Trap (2024), Don't Kill It (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Elissa Dowling

Composers and cinematographers
- Jan-Michael LosadaShared titles: Acceleration (2019), Don't Kill It (2016), The Last Heist (2016), Tales of Halloween (2015)See all 4 shared titles with Jan-Michael Losada
- Matthias SchubertShared titles: Satanic Hispanics (2022), The Shed (2019), Nightmare Cinema (2018)See all 3 shared titles with Matthias Schubert

- Edwin WendlerShared titles: Dead Ant (2017), Tales of Halloween (2015), Unnatural (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Edwin Wendler

- Joseph BisharaShared titles: Tales of Halloween (2015), The Gravedancers (2006), The Convent (2000)See all 3 shared titles with Joseph Bishara

Producers
- Mark HodosShared titles: Dead Ant (2017), Unnatural (2015), All American Christmas Carol (2013)See all 3 shared titles with Mark Hodos
- Bill McCutchenShared titles: Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (2026), The Gravedancers (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Bill McCutchen
- Lawrence Elmer Fuhrmann Jr.Shared titles: Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (2026), The Gravedancers (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Lawrence Elmer Fuhrmann Jr.

- Michael Tadross Jr.Shared titles: The Devil's Trap (2024), The Last Heist (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Tadross Jr.

Mixed roles
- Joe DanteShared titles: Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (2026), Nightmare Cinema (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Joe Dante

- Robert L. LucasShared titles: Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern (2026), Satanic Hispanics (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Robert L. Lucas
- Adam GieraschShared titles: He Knows Your Every Move (2018), Tales of Halloween (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Adam Gierasch

