Gary Sherman (born August 28, 1945) is an American film director, producer, and writer from Chicago, Illinois. He began his career directing short films, commercials, industrials, and documentaries while still an undergraduate at IIT's Institute of Design. After graduating, Gary moved to London, England, where he continued directing commercials and also co-wrote and directed his first feature film, Death Line starring Donald Pleasence. The British Film Institute called this debut "The Most Significant Directorial Debut of the Year". Upon relocating to Los Angeles, California, he continued writing and collaborating on many feature scripts. He also wrote and directed several television pilots. Avco-Embassy producer Ronald Shusett asked Sherman to direct the 1981 horror film Dead & Buried, and Sherman followed that film with the action-thriller Vice Squad shot by Stanley Kubrick's DP John Alcott. Like Death Line, these films often polarized critics and audiences and have since gone on to become genre classics. Next he co-wrote and directed the thriller Wanted: Dead or Alive starring Rutger Hauer and Gene Simmons. Teamed with Gene, the award-winning Rock Against Drugs public service campaign for MTV came about as well as the pilot for the ABC series Sable.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 28, 1945 (81)
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Writer, director and producer, also actor
- 9 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
What are Gary Sherman's films like?
Across their 9 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 1 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 5
Grounded 7 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 6
A split, not a type: Steady 5 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 4
Resolved 8 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet2
- 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 Gary Sherman's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).
- discovery+
Subscription and free streaming for Gary Sherman'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
19 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
39: A Film by Carroll McKane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Glow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
First Wave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Missing Persons(1993)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)
Murderous Vision (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Fire and Rain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
After the Shock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Lisa(1990)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Poltergeist III(1988)
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Sable (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Wanted: Dead or Alive(1986)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all filmsThe Streets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Mysterious Two (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Vice Squad(1982)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Dead & Buried(1981)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Phobia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Death Line(1972)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 18 titles from 1972 to 2006.
Biggest box office
Poltergeist III (1988)
Highest rated
Dead & Buried (1981)
Most popular right now
Poltergeist III (1988)
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 Gary Sherman's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 40th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43rd percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 9 titles are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the dialogue 44/100 and the plot and story 40/100 in their films, across 8 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 Gary Sherman's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 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 Gary Sherman work with?
People who share at least 2 of Gary Sherman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Joe Renzetti shares the most, 5.
Writers
- Brian TaggertShared titles: Poltergeist III (1988), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Taggert
Actors
- Heather O'RourkeShared titles: Heather O'Rourke: She Was Here (2026), Poltergeist III (1988)See all 2 shared titles with Heather O'Rourke
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Joe RenzettiShared titles: Lisa (1990), Poltergeist III (1988), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986), Vice Squad (1982), Dead & Buried (1981)See all 5 shared titles with Joe Renzetti
- Alex NepomniaschyShared titles: Lisa (1990), Poltergeist III (1988), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Alex Nepomniaschy
- Ross AlbertShared titles: Lisa (1990), Poltergeist III (1988), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)See all 3 shared titles with Ross Albert
Producers
- Barry BernardiShared titles: Poltergeist III (1988), Wanted: Dead or Alive (1986)See all 2 shared titles with Barry Bernardi
