Christopher Robert Cargill

Biography:

C. Robert Cargill grew up in a military family and spent his childhood on army bases around the United States. Before becoming a writer, he worked several jobs, including as a video store employee and a travel agent.

He wrote his first movie review in 2000 for the website “Guerilla Films,” volunteering to cover Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The review drew more than 50,000 views—remarkably high at the time—which led to further writing opportunities. While writing for Guerilla Films, Cargill befriended Eric Vespe (“Quint”) of Ain’t It Cool News, which helped him secure a position reviving the site’s dormant “Indie Indie Column.” Using the name Massawyrm, he began contributing to Ain’t It Cool News in May 2001; his first review covered Jon Favreau’s Made. His work as an online critic also brought him into contact with filmmakers, occasionally resulting in small roles in independent films. By 2011, however, he admitted that reviewing had become increasingly difficult due to his personal relationships in the film industry, making objectivity harder to maintain. In addition to his work for Ain’t It Cool News and Spill.com, he also freelanced for Film.com and Hollywood.com.

Cargill had long aspired to write fiction, and he viewed every film he reviewed—and the reactions to his critiques—as an intensive education in storytelling. He described the process as a continuous master class in narrative structure.

His debut novel, Dreams and Shadows, an urban fantasy blending modern characters with folklore and mythology, was published on February 26, 2013. He later released other novels, including Sea of Rust and Day Zero.

Cargill’s first film project emerged after he pitched the idea for Sinister to director Scott Derrickson during a conversation in Las Vegas. Derrickson brought the concept to producer Jason Blum, who pushed the project into production quickly. Filming began in September 2011, and the movie premiered at South by Southwest. After its success, Cargill stepped away from film criticism to focus on writing, saying he finally had the chance to pursue fiction in multiple formats. Sinister became a box office hit, earning over $87 million on a $3 million budget. He and Derrickson co-wrote the 2015 sequel, Sinister 2, though it received poor reviews for relying on clichés and excessive violence.

Cargill and Derrickson were also involved in developing a film adaptation of the Deus Ex video game series, but left the project after being hired by Kevin Feige to work on Marvel’s Doctor Strange. Alongside Derrickson and Jon Spaihts, Cargill helped write the script for the 2016 film, which was praised for its performances, effects, and score and grossed more than $677 million worldwide. The pair were originally set to work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but exited due to creative differences. They later signed a writing deal with Blumhouse Television.

Under the pen name Kit Lesser, Cargill wrote No Man of God, a biographical film about FBI agent William Hagmaier (played by Elijah Wood) and his encounters with serial killer Ted Bundy. Cargill explained that he wanted to challenge the glamorization of Bundy often seen in popular media. The film was released in 2021.

When Derrickson stepped away from the Doctor Strange sequel, he and Cargill returned to The Black Phone, a project they had previously considered. Based on Joe Hill’s short story, the film premiered at Fantastic Fest in September 2021 and was released in theaters in June 2022. It earned $157 million worldwide and was praised for its performances and accuracy to the source material. A sequel was announced for June 27, 2025, with much of the cast—and both Derrickson and Cargill—returning.

Cargill and Derrickson are also collaborating on the script for a film adaptation of The Outer Limits, based on the influential 1960s episode “Demon with a Glass Hand,” with MGM producing.

Cargill co-hosts two podcasts: Junkfood Cinema, with critic Brian Salisbury, and Write Along, a writing-focused podcast with author David Chen.