Joshua Zeman is an American documentary film director, writer and producer. He is best known for his documentaries Cropsey, The Killing Season and Murder Mountain.
Biography from TMDB.
- Sea Cliff, New York, USA
- Producer, director and writer, also actor
- 18 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
What are Joshua Zeman's films like?
Across their 17 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 1 · Earnest 13
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 3 · Dark 8
Grounded 10 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
Gentle 4 · Charged 6 · Intense 4
A split, not a type: Steady 9 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 5 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 2
A split, not a type: Easy watch 4 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 7
A split, not a type: Resolved 6 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet10
- Ambiguous6
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 Joshua Zeman's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
- Fear Factory, show their 2 titles on Fear Factory
- Indie Club, show their 2 titles on Indie Club
- Strand Releasing, show their 2 titles on Strand Releasing
- A&E Crime Central, show their title on A&E Crime Central
- Daring Docs, show their title on Daring Docs
- Kino Film Collection, show their title on Kino Film Collection
Subscription and free streaming for Joshua Zeman'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
21 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page.
Checkpoint Zoo(2024)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Suburban Fury(2024)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all shows
Murder Mountain(2018)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows
The Killing Season(2016)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all showsLong Island: une saison pour tuer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
The Lost Arcade(2015)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Killer Legends(2014)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all filmsThe Best Man for the Job (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Ceremony(2010)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Cropsey(2009)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Against the Current(2009)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Rain Fall(2009)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
The Hawk Is Dying(2006)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Mysterious Skin(2004)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Station Agent(2003)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Get Well Soon(2001)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
Chasing Sleep(2000)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Full Tilt Boogie(1997)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Kiss & Tell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Career shape
A full career of 18 titles from 1997 to 2024.
Biggest box office
The Station Agent (2003)
Highest rated
Mysterious Skin (2004)
Most popular right now
The Station Agent (2003)
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 Joshua Zeman's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 54th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 18 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved2
- Loved with Detractors1
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the atmosphere 71/100 and the pacing 40/100 in their films, across 14 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.
Who does Joshua Zeman work with?
People who share at least 2 of Joshua Zeman's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Aaron Crozier shares the most, 4.
Actors
- Paul GiamattiShared titles: The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (2021), The Hawk Is Dying (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Giamatti
- Michelle TrachtenbergShared titles: Against the Current (2009), Mysterious Skin (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Michelle Trachtenberg
- Michelle WilliamsShared titles: The Hawk Is Dying (2006), The Station Agent (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Michelle Williams
Cinematographers and editors
- Aaron CrozierShared titles: The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (2021), Murder Mountain (2018), The Lost Arcade (2015), Killer Legends (2014)See all 4 shared titles with Aaron Crozier
- Sean KirbyShared titles: Suburban Fury (2024), Murder Mountain (2018), Against the Current (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Sean Kirby
- Nelson HumeShared titles: Checkpoint Zoo (2024), The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Nelson Hume
- Alan JacobsenShared titles: The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (2021), Murder Mountain (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Alan Jacobsen
Producers
- Mary Jane SkalskiShared titles: Against the Current (2009), The Hawk Is Dying (2006), Mysterious Skin (2004), The Station Agent (2003)See all 4 shared titles with Mary Jane Skalski
- Caitlin ColfordShared titles: Checkpoint Zoo (2024), The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (2021), The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (2021)See all 3 shared titles with Caitlin Colford
- Zachary MortensenShared titles: Checkpoint Zoo (2024), Against the Current (2009), Cropsey (2009)See all 3 shared titles with Zachary Mortensen
- Jeffrey Kusama-HinteShared titles: Cropsey (2009), The Hawk Is Dying (2006), Mysterious Skin (2004)See all 3 shared titles with Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte
