Simon Barrett

Simon Barrett (born 1978) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director known for his collaborations with Adam Wingard, including A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S, V/H/S/2, You're Next, and The Guest. His feature directorial debut, Seance, was released in 2021.

Early life Barrett was born in Columbia, Missouri, in 1978.

Career Barrett has performed a number of roles in his films. He attributes this to the low budgets of his early films, in which he and frequent collaborator Adam Wingard were forced to act, as they could not afford to hire anyone else. Barrett credits his acting with informing him about the screenwriting process and techniques he'll use in the future.

Among his early work was writing the 2004 TV film Frankenfish, and collaborating with director Alex Turner as writer on Dead Birds (2004) and Red Sands (2009), period horror films. He first collaborated with Wingard on A Horrible Way to Die (2010) and continued with You're Next, in which he wrote, produced, and acted. He co-wrote Autoerotic (2011) with co-directors Wingard and Joe Swanberg.

In 2012, he wrote a segment in The ABCs of Death for Wingard he returned to the 2013 sequel to write and direct a segment. Eric England cast Barrett in Contracted (2013) after meeting him and being impressed with his ability to blend into crowds despite his charisma. Swanberg cast Barrett and Wingard in 24 Exposures (2013) after being inspired by their working relationship and differing personalities. Also in 2013, Barrett wrote and directed a radio play for Larry Fessenden's Tales from Beyond the Pale. The Guest (2014) was another collaboration between Wingard and Barrett. They said the thriller theme of this film opened up additional doors to them, as they had previously been stereotyped as horror filmmakers. The next year, in 2017, he wrote Temple, directed by Michael Barrett.

In 2021, Barrett made his directorial debut with Seance, which he also wrote. The same year he wrote and directed the segment The Empty Wake of V/H/S/94.

In 2024, Barrett co-wrote Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, also co-written and directed by Wingard. The same year he also wrote Azrael, directed by E. L. Katz.

Barrett was in works of a remake of the South Korean thriller film I Saw The Devil. It was announced in 2014. As of 2024, there hasn't yet been an update regarding this project. His other upcoming projects as a writer includes Onslaught (film), the live-action adaptation of the 1985 television series Thundercats, and the sequel to the 1997 film Face/Off, all of which will be directed by Wingard.

Filmography Film Year Title Writer Producer Notes 2004 Dead Birds Frankenfish TV movie 2009 Red Sands 2010 A Horrible Way to Die Also first assistant director, casting director, location manager andmusic/post-production supervisor2011 You're Next Autoerotic What Fun We Were Having:4 Stories About Date Rape 2014 The Guest 2016 Blair Witch 2017 Temple 2021 Seance Also director 2024 Azrael Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 2026 Onslaught

Acting roles Year Title Role 2009 Red Sands Matt Carson 2010 A Horrible Way to Die Olsen 2011 You're Next Tiger Mask2013 Contracted B. J. 24 Exposures Michael Bamfeaux

Short film