Maine-native Carter Smith began his career in the world of fashion photography. His breakthrough story included a series of gritty, documentary-style portraits of teen life in the Midwest, which appeared in the British magazine ID. His fashion work and celebrity portraits have since been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, GQ, and W, all photographed in the cinematic style that has become Carter's signature. He has directed commercials for clients such as Lancome, Tommy Hilfiger and Tiffany's. He collaborated with author Dennis Cooper on an feature film script titled 'Warm'.
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Biography from TMDB.
- September 6, 1971 (55)
- Topsham, Maine, USA
- Director and writer, also producer
- 5 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
What are Carter Smith's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 4
Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3
A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
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 Carter Smith's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Carter Smith'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
16 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
Atlantic City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Passenger(2023)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
Swallowed(2022)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Midnight Kiss (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Sucker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
They Come at Night, Mostly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Jamie Marks Is Dead(2014)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Par-courts Gay, Volume 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Yearbook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Boys On Film 3: American Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
The Ruins(2008)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Boys Life 6 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Junge Rebellen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Bugcrush (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Cannibal! The Musical(1993)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all filmsHeadlock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 16 titles, 15 of them dated from 1996 to 2025.
How do Carter Smith's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 37th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 35th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
2 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 4 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 Carter Smith's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Carter Smith work with?
People who share at least 2 of Carter Smith's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Eric Nagy shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Jena MaloneShared titles: Swallowed (2022), The Ruins (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Jena Malone
Composers and editors
- Eric NagyShared titles: The Passenger (2023), Swallowed (2022), Jamie Marks Is Dead (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Eric Nagy
- Christopher BearShared titles: The Passenger (2023), Swallowed (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Christopher Bear
