Garris was born in Santa Monica, California. He is known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers 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 hosted the double feature re-release of The People Under the Stairs and The Serpent and The Rainbow on 20 February 2010 in the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. He contributes to the web series Trailers From Hell. Garris was also the co-screenwriter and executive Producer of Hocus Pocus. Garris most recently directed the 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.