[5] Local television station WLVI also provided McCarthy with free access to B-movies through its weekly science fiction and horror movie program Creature Double Feature[7] McCarthy became fascinated with cinematography and by junior high was drawn to the films of David Cronenberg, George A. Romero, John Waters and David Lynch.

[10] During his teens McCarthy also made short movies using a video camera and dabbled in animation through classes in high school and a local arts center.

[4] After high school McCarthy lived in Chicago and took filmmaking classes at Columbia College before relocating to New York to attend SUNY Purchase full-time.

[2] In 2000 McCarthy moved to Los Angeles where he slept on a couch in his sister's home before renting a Sunset Boulevard apartment for $500 a month.

McCarthy's 12th film for Alpha 60, entitled Maid, was envisioned as a Spanish language documentary that evolves into a Korean musical in under six minutes.

[13] This vote of confidence prompted McCarthy to make "Cry for Help," a short film about a zombie version of Jesus Christ, which premiered at Sundance in 2005.

When the short was optioned for a longer production, within six weeks McCarthy expanded it into a feature and was contracted to direct the new feature-length version of the film.

[15] A wide release in the United Kingdom grossed $4 million,[16] and the film was well received stateside with the Los Angeles Times later calling it "a crisply made haunted house movie that benefited from its grab-bag approach.

[19] That same year McCarthy served as executive producer on a sequel to The Pact starring the first film's original leads, but written and directed by Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath.