Mick Garris’ ‘Fear Itself’ Remains a Missed Opportunity 18 Years Later

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As a huge fan of Stephen King, I’ve noticed just how many of his stories have made it to the screen – it feels like everyone in Hollywood has worked on one! But if I had to pick one director who really gets King, it’s Mick Garris. Seriously, the guy’s adapted more of Stephen King’s work than anyone else. I’m talking films like Sleepwalkers and the epic The Stand, even The Shining miniseries, Bag of Bones, and Riding the Bullet. While Mike Flanagan is doing amazing work and closing the gap, Garris still holds the record for bringing King’s stories to life.

In 2008, Mick Garris teamed up with fellow graduates of King’s College to create a new horror series inspired by his previous work, Masters of Horror. Though it didn’t gain much attention at the time, all 13 episodes of Fear Itself, which originally aired on NBC, are now available to watch for free on Tubi.

‘Fear Itself’ Was a Toned-Down Version of ‘Masters of Horror’

If you watched Showtime’s Masters of Horror, you’ll remember how intensely scary it could be. Each episode was like a standalone horror movie, and the series featured work from some of the biggest names in the genre – directors like Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper, and John Carpenter. They created shocking stories that didn’t shy away from difficult themes like sex, corruption, hatred of women, and religion, often using strong language. Masters of Horror explored every one of the seven deadly sins, and even delved into other disturbing topics.

When Fear Itself debuted on NBC in 2008, viewers quickly recognized its resemblance to Masters of Horror, as each episode told a standalone story. However, Fear Itself felt like a milder version of the original. Because it aired on a major network, it lacked the graphic gore, violence, nudity, and strong language that characterized Masters of Horror. While the earlier series was rated R, Fear Itself was a more restrained, PG-13 show subject to stricter censorship. This didn’t make it a poor series, just a different one.

Besides Dean Garris, the Fear Itself series reunited several other people who had previously worked on Stephen King projects, including directors John Landis and Mary Harron, and actors Matt Frewer, Cynthia Watros, and Richard Chizmar. The show also featured early performances from future stars like Anna Kendrick (known for Pitch Perfect), Brandon Routh (Superman), Jesse Plemons (Bugonia), and Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale).

Mick Garris Left ‘Fear Itself’ Before It Even Premiered

You know, I’m a big fan of anthology horror, and I always thought Fear Itself had potential. But it’s interesting to learn that Larry Garris, who’s credited as the creator, actually ended up leaving before it even got made. Apparently, the network wanted a lot of changes – he didn’t have final say on the episodes, which really bothered him. To make matters worse, during the writer’s strike in ’07 and ’08, they brought in writers who weren’t part of the union to do rewrites, and that was a dealbreaker for Garris. He left feeling pretty frustrated, though he didn’t completely dislike how the show turned out in the end.

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Over the years, Garris has often spoken highly of the creative people he worked with on the show. While he sees Fear Itself as a project that didn’t reach its full potential – it was canceled after airing during the 2008 Olympics – he considers it a valuable learning experience, even if it’s a little disappointing in hindsight.

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2026-02-21 20:04