# Mick Garris

Mick Garris (born December 4, 1951) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist born in Santa Monica, California. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, as well as making Stephen King adaptations.

## Early life

Garris was born in Santa Monica, California and raised in Van Nuys.

## Career

He is known for his work in the horror genre. He has worked with Stephen King several times, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers, written by King and starring Mädchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror and the NBC series Fear Itself. Garris won a 1986 Edgar Award for an episode he wrote for the Steven Spielberg-produced television series Amazing Stories. Garris directed the FEARnet web series Post Mortem. He contributes to the web series Trailers From Hell. Garris was also the co-screenwriter and executive producer of Hocus Pocus. Garris directed the 2011 miniseries adaption of Stephen King's novel Bag of Bones and the documentary film Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney Jr., about the life and work of Legend actor Lon Chaney Jr., which screened on the Horror-Rama 2015 in October 2015. He has a role, as Himself in the biography horror film Digging Up the Marrow, from indie director Adam Green.
As of 2015, he is also a member of the board of advisers for the Hollywood Horror Museum.
On January 16, 2018, it was announced that Mick Garris' horror podcast Post Mortem would be joining Blumhouse's podcast network.

## Awards

* Garris received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2006 New York City Horror Film Festival. He received the award in person after a screening of his Masters of Horror episode "Valerie on the Stairs".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 1987 | Batteries Not Included | No | Story | No | |
| 1988 | Critters 2: The Main Course | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1989 | The Fly II | No | Yes | No | |
| 1992 | Sleepwalkers | Yes | No | No | |
| 1993 | Hocus Pocus | No | Yes | Co-Executive | |
| 1997 | Michael Jackson's Ghosts | No | Yes | No | Musical short |
| 2004 | Riding the Bullet | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2014 | Unbroken | No | No | Executive | |
| 2018 | Nightmare Cinema | Yes | Yes | Yes | Segments "The Projectionist", "Dead" |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | The Howling | Man with TV Guide | |
| 1983 | Michael Jackson's Thriller | Zombie | Musical short |
| 1988 | Critters 2: The Main Course | Critters (voice) | |
| 1995 | The Quick and the Dead | Young Herod's Man | |
| 1996 | The Stupids | Reporter #2 | |
| 2004 | Riding the Bullet | Dr. Higgins | |
| 2005 | Gotham Cafe | Father Callahan | Short |
| 2007 | Brutal Massacre: A Comedy | Himself | |
| 2010 | The Man Who Saw Frankenstein Cry | Host | Documentary |
| 2014 | Digging Up the Marrow | Himself | |
| 2015 | Tales of Halloween | The Phantom | Segment "Grim Grinning Ghost" |
| 2016 | The Rift: Dark Side of the Moon | Martin | |
| 2020 | Sky Sharks | Dr. Gage Creed | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Creator | Notes |
| 1979–1981 | Fantasy Film Festival | No | Co-Producer | No | No | Talk show |
| 1985–1987 | Amazing Stories | Yes | No | Yes | No | Wrote teleplays for 8 episodes Directed and wrote story episode "Life on Death Row" Story editor in 22 episodes |
| 1986 | Disneyland | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Episode: "Fuzzbucket" |
| 1988 | Freddy's Nightmares | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Killer Instinct" |
| 1990–1991 | She-Wolf of London | No | No | Yes | Yes | Wrote episode "She-Wolf of London" Also executive consultant for 20 episodes |
| 1994 | The Stand | Yes | No | No | No | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Whirlpool" |
| 1995 | New York Undercover | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "The Smoking Section" |
| 1997 | The Shining | Yes | No | No | No | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | The Others | Yes | Supervising | Yes | No | Wrote episode "Don't Dream It's Over" Director and supervising producer of 3 episodes |
| 2001 | The Judge | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Part One" |
| 2005–2007 | Masters of Horror | No | Executive | Yes | Yes | Wrote 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Masters of Science Fiction | Yes | Co-Executive | No | No | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Fear Itself | No | No | Yes | Yes | Wrote episode "The Sacrifice" |
| 2010 | Happy Town | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Polly Wants a Crack at Her" |
| 2010–2016 | Post Mortem with Mick Garris | No | Executive | No | Yes | |
| 2011 | Bag of Bones | Yes | Executive | No | No | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Pretty Little Liars | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "Gamma Zeta Die!" |
| 2014 | Ravenswood | Yes | No | No | No | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Witches of East End | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "The Fall of the House of Beauchamp" |
| 2016 | Shadowhunters | Yes | No | No | No | Episode: "The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy" |
| 2016 | Dead of Summer | Yes | No | No | No | 2 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Once Upon a Time | Yes | No | No | No | 2 episodes |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
| 1982 | Take One: Fear on Film | No | Yes | No |
| 1984 | Cheeseball Presents | No | Associate | No |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Yes | No | No |
| 1997 | Quicksilver Highway | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1998 | Virtual Obsession | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | Lost in Oz | Yes | No | No |
| 2006 | Desperation | Yes | Executive | No |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979–1981 | Fantasy Film Festival | Host | Talk show |
| 1982 | Take One: Fear on Film | Host | Television film |
| 1994 | The Stand | Henry Dunbarton | Episode: "The Plague" |
| 1997 | Quicksilver Highway | Surgeon in Hospital Hallway | Television film |
| 1997 | The Shining | AA Hartwell | Episode #1.2 |
| 2010–2016 | Post Mortem with Mick Garris | Host | 11 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Eli Roth's History of Horror | Self | 9 episodes |
| 2021 | The Stand | Boulder Partygoer | Cameo |

### Documentary works

Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Writer | Producer |
| 1982 | Coming Soon | Yes | Yes |
TV documentary films
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
| 1980 | Fear on Film: Inside "The Fog" | No | Yes | No |
| 1982 | The Making of a Chilling Tale | Yes | No | No |
| 1982 | The Making of "The Thing" | Yes | Yes | Yes |
TV shorts
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
| 1981 | Making a Monster Movie: Inside "The Howling" | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1983 | The Making of "Videodrome" | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1985 | The Making of "The Goonies" | Yes | Yes | No |
Consulting producer
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2018 | History of Horror | 7 episodes |