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

He has worked with Stephen King several times, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers, written by King and starring Mädchen Amick[2] and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror[3] 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.

[5] Garris directed the 2011 miniseries adaption of Stephen King's novel Bag of Bones[6] 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.,[7] which screened on the Horror-Rama 2015 in October 2015.

[8] He has a role, as Himself in the biography horror film Digging Up the Marrow, from indie director Adam Green.