Babak Anvari (Persian: بابک انوری; born 1982 or 1983) is a British-Iranian filmmaker. He is best known for directing horror films such as Under the Shadow (2016) and Wounds (2019). Description above from the Wikipedia article Babak Anvari, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Tehran, Iran
- Producer, director and writer
- 11 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
What are Babak Anvari's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.
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 0 · Earnest 9
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 9
Grounded 8 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 8
Steady 0 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 1
Casual 0 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 4
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 7
A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet6
- Ambiguous3
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 Babak Anvari's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Babak Anvari'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
20 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
He Bled Neon(2026)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Fackham Hall(2025)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Hallow Road(2025)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
The Front Room(2024)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Abel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Arcadia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
History of Evil(2024)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Asphalt City(2023)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
I Came By(2022)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Monsterland(2020)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all shows
Wounds(2019)
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films
Under the Shadow(2016)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Two & Two (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Solitary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Creed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
What's Up with Adam? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Decadence is Easy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Last Flight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Untitled Cloverfield Sequel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 19 titles, 17 of them dated from 2004 to 2026.
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.
Awards
a BAFTA Award and 1 other major award from 5 major nominations, 2012–2017.
- BAFTA Award, won · Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Outstanding British Film of the Year
+2 other major bodies · 1 win and 1 nomination
- Sundance award, won
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best International Film
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Short Film
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Babak Anvari's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 43rd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 40th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up2
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th4
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 11 titles are Broadly Agreed.
- Universally Panned2
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed3
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 40/100 in their films, across 8 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 Babak Anvari's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
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 Babak Anvari work with?
People who share at least 2 of Babak Anvari's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lucan Toh shares the most, 9.
Actors
- Paul WesleyShared titles: He Bled Neon (2026), History of Evil (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Wesley
Cinematographers and editors
- Kit FraserShared titles: Hallow Road (2025), I Came By (2022), Wounds (2019), Under the Shadow (2016)See all 4 shared titles with Kit Fraser
- Chris BarwellShared titles: Wounds (2019), Under the Shadow (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Chris Barwell
Producers
- Lucan TohShared titles: He Bled Neon (2026), Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (2026), Hallow Road (2025), History of Evil (2024), The Front Room (2024), Asphalt City (2023), I Came By (2022), Wounds (2019), Under the Shadow (2016)See all 9 shared titles with Lucan Toh
- Bryan SondermanShared titles: Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (2026), Hallow Road (2025), History of Evil (2024), The Front Room (2024), I Came By (2022)See all 5 shared titles with Bryan Sonderman
- Aram TertzakianShared titles: He Bled Neon (2026), Hallow Road (2025), I Came By (2022)See all 3 shared titles with Aram Tertzakian
- Maxime CottrayShared titles: He Bled Neon (2026), Hallow Road (2025), History of Evil (2024)See all 3 shared titles with Maxime Cottray