Christian Ackerman

Christian Ackerman is a Los Angeles-based producer, writer, and director who has produced over 30 feature films including Fear the Night, Deltopia, Prey, Bethany, and Night of the Bastard. As a director, Christian's films have won over 30 film festival awards with 50+ nominations. In 2018 he founded Black Vortex Cinema, a production, publishing, and events company starting with the My Favorite Horror Movie trilogy of books, featuring essays by 150 horror film legends and luminaries. In 2020, Christian produced and directed Joe Bob's Haunted Drive-In, a haunt/film festival/horror host anthology hybrid that sold out the 19 acre Rose Bowl lot on Halloween night.

What are Christian Ackerman's films like?

Across their 26 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.

Genres

Drama7 titles17^th

Thriller6 titles27^th

Horror5 titles6^th

Action2 titles12^th

Crime2 titles24^th

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Motif score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight

Survival

28%

Morality

24%

Self

23%

Bonds

20%

Society

3%

Ideas

2%

Family bonds6 Trauma6 Survival5 Identity5 Revenge4 Betrayal5 Violence4 Deception4

What they feel like to watch

their average across 26 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 3 · Wry 5 · Earnest 18

Serious

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 11 · Dark 9

Stylized

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 17 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 3

Charged

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 12 · Intense 11

Shifting

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 15 · Whiplash 5

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 17 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 3

Even-paced

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 18 · Relentless 2

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 6 · Engaged 18 · Full focus 2

Affecting

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 6 · Affecting 16 · Heavy 4

Resolved

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 18 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

23

Dread

13

Absurd

7

Melancholic

7

Thrilling

5

Other

10

How their films linger

Unsettling12 Bittersweet9 Fun7 Infuriating6 Feel-good4 Hopeful5

How their films end · 10 with a twist

Happy8
Bittersweet10
Tragic1
Ambiguous7

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 Christian Ackerman's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 20 of their 26 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (17).

Also on these channels

Lifetime Movie Club3 titles, show their 3 titles on Lifetime Movie Club
Howdy1 title, show their title on Howdy
IndiePix Unlimited1 title, show their title on IndiePix Unlimited
Lionsgate+1 title, show their title on Lionsgate+
Screambox1 title, show their title on Screambox
ViX1 title, show their title on ViX

Subscription and free streaming for Christian Ackerman'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

26 credits, 26 with a Motif page.

Basic(2026)
Producer
Motif score: 68th percentile of all films
Prey(2024)
Producer
Motif score: 14th percentile of all films
The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms(2024)
Producer
Motif score: 11th percentile of all films
Deltopia(2023)
Producer
Motif score: 23rd percentile of all films
The Black Mass(2023)
Producer
Motif score: 10th percentile of all films
Collide(2022)
Producer
Motif score: 23rd percentile of all films
Night of the Bastard(2022)
Producer · Writer
Motif score: 8th percentile of all films
Private Property(2022)
Producer
Motif score: 16th percentile of all films
A Deadly Lullaby(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 29th percentile of all films
Calling for Love(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 20th percentile of all films
Escaping My Stalker(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 17th percentile of all films
Into the Arms of Danger(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 25th percentile of all films
Kidnapped to the Island(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 23rd percentile of all films
Twisted Twin(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 23rd percentile of all films
Young, Stalked, and Pregnant(2020)
Producer
Motif score: 13th percentile of all films
Portal(2019)
Producer
Motif score: 6th percentile of all films
Stalked by My Doctor: A Sleepwalker's Nightmare(2019)
Producer
Motif score: 35th percentile of all films
Family Vanished(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 9th percentile of all films
Hometown Killer(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 31st percentile of all films
House of Deadly Secrets(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 16th percentile of all films
Killer Under the Bed(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 5th percentile of all films
Mistress Hunter(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 31st percentile of all films
Nightmare Tenant(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 14th percentile of all films
Stalked by My Doctor: Patient's Revenge(2018)
Producer
Motif score: 39th percentile of all films
Bethany(2017)
Producer
Motif score: 31st percentile of all films
2 Jennifer(2016)
Producer
Motif score: 4th percentile of all films

Career shape

Across their 26 Motif titles from 2016 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms (2024)

$158K worldwide

Highest rated

Stalked by My Doctor: Patient's Revenge (2018)

Motif 39^th

By role

only this rolewith another role

Writing1 of 26Producing26 of 26 · 19^th

By decade

2010s11 · crew2020s15 · crew

Counts over their Motif titles; 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, shown from 5 scored.

How do Christian Ackerman's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 19^th percentile, the median of all 26; across their 26 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 19^th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

19^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 26

Approval · how many liked their films

21^stpercentile

Typical film, the median of 26

Reach · how many have seen their films

49^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 26

Motif score across 26 titles, by percentile

50^th to 74^th1
25^th to 49^th7
Below 25^th18

Shape of the crowd

16 of their 26 titles are Mixed.

Universally Panned3
Divisive3
Cult Classic4
Mixed16

Most divisive · producer

Basic (2026)

97^th percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Basic (2026)

Motif 68^th · 55% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 35/100 and the plot and story 35/100 in their films, across 25 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

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.