Skip to content
MovieCove
Ian Hultquist

Ian Hultquist

Composer, also producer · Born October 31, 1985 (40) · San Diego, California, USA

Ian Hultquist is an American composer & producer based in London, United Kingdom. Over the past few years he has made a name for himself composing the scores for numerous films, documentaries and TV shows. Ian started his career in music as a founding member of the band Passion Pit, which started in Boston, MA where he was studying Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music. He spent many years touring around the world & honing in his production skills as a Music Director, and working on remixes for artists such as Portugal the Man, Imagine Dragons, Tegan & Sara and OK GO. In 2014 he, along with his wife & fellow composer Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist (aka Drum & Lace), relocated to Los Angeles in order to fully dedicate himself to working in music for film. Since then he has worked on over 40 film titles, as well as 20 television shows. He has written scores for some of the most renowned filmmakers working in the medium today, such as Sam Levinson (Assassination Nation), Erin Lee Carr (How to Fix a Drug Scandal, At the Heart of Gold), Alena Smith (Dickinson) & Karen Maine (Yes God Yes, Rosaline). In 2016 Ian formed Little Twig Records, an imprint label focused on releasing soundtracks for Film & TV. In 2020, Ian was the sole-composer named on the 40 Under 40 list for Doc NYC.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Born
October 31, 1985 (40)
From
San Diego, California, USA
Works as
Composer, also producer
Titles
44 on MovieCove · 48 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 36% in 30 days

What are Ian Hultquist's films like?

Across their 41 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Genres

Documentary13 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 76th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies
Comedy5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 45th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 48th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 29th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Horror2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 11th percentile
: browse their Horror movies

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

share of theme weight
Morality
21%
Bonds
21%
Survival
16%
Self
14%
Power
13%
Ideas
9%
Society
6%
Justice7 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds8 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival6 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship5 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition7 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth5 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 28 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 11 · Serious 0 · Dark 17

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 21 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 5 · Charged 13 · Intense 10

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 11 · Shifting 16 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 20 · Some laughs 5 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 14 · Even-paced 14 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 12 · Engaged 15 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 9 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 12

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 17 · Open-ended 7 · Ambiguous 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
26
Dread
15
Contemplative
13
Melancholic
14
Hopeful
8
Other
35

How their films linger

Thought-provoking18 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 6 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet23
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous15

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 Ian Hultquist's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 40 of their 44 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ian Hultquist'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

48 credits, 44 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Career shape

A full career of 34 titles, 33 of them dated from 2012 to 2026.

Biggest box office

A-X-L (2018)

$8.5M worldwide

Highest rated

At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Producing1 of 34: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleMusic33 of 34: 32 only music, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score49thOther crew1 of 34: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

2010s16 · crew2020s17 · crew

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 Ian Hultquist's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 29; across their 28 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Approval · how many liked their films

48thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Reach · how many have seen their films

73rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 28

Midcredits score across 44 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up11
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th17
  • Below 25th6

Shape of the crowd

16 of their 44 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser16
  • Broadly Agreed9
  • Mixed15

Most divisive · composer

Idiotka (2025)

93rd percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019)

Midcredits 98th · 90% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 54/100 in their films, across 19 reviewed titles; fans 63, detractors 37. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

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 Ian Hultquist's work okay for kids?

Across up to 18 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore15 titles15–91 · median 46 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity18 titles19–63 · median 32 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity16 titles30–85 · median 54 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs15 titles14–66 · median 43 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense14 titles10–86 · median 50 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

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 Ian Hultquist work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ian Hultquist's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sofia degli Alessandri shares the most, 10.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles