---
name: "Michael McDowell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/michael-mcdowell"
fi1m_id: "michael-mcdowell"
imdb_id: "nm0568313"
tmdb_id: 34534
wikidata_id: "Q276817"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "1 June 1950"
died: "27 December 1999"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-17T23:45:44.181637+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Michael McDowell

## Identity

Michael McDowell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/michael-mcdowell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** michael-mcdowell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0568313
- **TMDB ID:** 34534
- **Wikidata ID:** Q276817
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McDowell_(author), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q276817, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0568313/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/34534

Writer. Born 1 June 1950 in Enterprise, Alabama, USA. Died 27 December 1999.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 1 June 1950, Enterprise, Alabama, USA
- **Died:** 27 December 1999
- **Active:** 1988–2024
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (1), 1990s 82 (1), 2020s 64 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 74 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Fantasy 3, Comedy 2, Animation 1, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $612m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McDowell_(author), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q276817, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0568313/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/34534

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Beetlejuice*](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Michael McDowell was an American novelist and screenwriter. Born on 1 June 1950 in Enterprise, Alabama, he earned a BA and MA from Harvard University and a PhD in English from Brandeis University in 1978. He died on 27 December 1999 in Boston, Massachusetts.

McDowell wrote or co-wrote more than thirty novels, many in the horror genre, including the Blackwater series and *The Elementals*. His screen credits include the story and screenplay for *Beetlejuice* (1988), adaptation work on *The Nightmare Before Christmas* (1993), the screenplay for *Thinner* (1996), and episodes of *Tales from the Darkside* and *Tales from the Crypt*.

He lived with theatre historian and director Laurence Senelick for thirty years. McDowell was noted for his collection of items related to death customs and was described by Stephen King as the finest writer of paperback originals in America at the time.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, encyclopediaofalabama.org, al.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* (2024), Fi1m 64, Characters — [page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice-beetlejuice.md)
- *The Nightmare Before Christmas* (1993), Fi1m 82, Adaptation — [page](https://film.one/film/the-nightmare-before-christmas.md)
- *Beetlejuice* (1988), Fi1m 83, Story, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice.md)

## Complete filmography (17)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* (2024), Characters — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice-beetlejuice.md)
- *Cold Moon* (2016), Novel
- *Thinner* (1996), Screenplay
- *Bone Chillers* (1996), series, Teleplay
- *George Romero's Golden Tales 2* (1995), Writer
- *The Nightmare Before Christmas* (1993), Adaptation — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-nightmare-before-christmas.md)
- *Stephen King's Golden Tales* (1993), Writer
- *Tales from the Darkside* (1990), Writer
- *Tales from the Darkside: The Movie* (1990), Screenplay, Writer
- *Tales from the Crypt* (1989), series, Screenplay
- *Monsters* (1988), series, Writer
- *Beetlejuice* (1988), Story, Screenplay — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/beetlejuice.md)
- *Attic Suite* (1986), Writer
- *Amazing Stories* (1985), series, Writer
- *The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1985), series, Teleplay
- *Tales from the Darkside* (1984), series, Director, Writer
- *Untitled Beetlejuice 3*, Characters

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/michael-mcdowell