
John Shirley
Writer · Born February 10, 1953 (73) · Houston, Texas, USA
- February 10, 1953 (73)
- Houston, Texas, USA
- Writer
- 11 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
What are John Shirley's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
Grounded 0 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 2
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 1 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
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 John Shirley's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (4).
Subscription and free streaming for John Shirley'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, 11 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
The Tomb(2009)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Batman Beyond(1999)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Twists of Terror (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

Spawn(1997)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
The Adventures of Sinbad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

Poltergeist: The Legacy(1996)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all shows
Profit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

VR.5 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

The Specialist(1994)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
The Crow(1994)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows
Red Shoe Diaries (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

The Real Ghostbusters(1986)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles from 1986 to 2012.

Biggest box office
The Specialist (1994)

Highest rated
The Crow (1994)

Most popular right now
Iron Man: Armored Adventures (2009)
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 John Shirley's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 23rd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 27th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 11 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the dialogue 42/100 and the plot and story 43/100 in their films, across 4 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 John Shirley'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 John Shirley work with?
People who share at least 2 of John Shirley's MovieCove titles; Jeff Most shares the most, 3.
- Eric RobertsShared titles: The Tomb (2009), The Specialist (1994)See all 2 shared titles with Eric Roberts

- Jeff MostShared titles: The Tomb (2009), The Crow (1994), The Specialist (1994)See all 3 shared titles with Jeff Most



