Zachary Sheets

Zachary Sheets—now there’s a name that pops up every so often if you’re paying attention to the corners of film where things get a little weird or off-kilter. You might’ve caught his work in “Lovecraft Country” (2020), that wild, reality-bending HBO series that mashed together monsters, racism, and all sorts of cosmic nightmares. Sheets had a hand in bringing those freaky vibes to life, the kind of stuff that makes you double-check your closet before bed. And then he’s in “The Fits” (2015), which—if you haven’t seen it, honestly, it’s not your average coming-of-age flick. It’s eerie, hypnotic, and almost dreamlike, with these dance scenes that hit you right in the gut. Sheets’ work there? Subtle, but it sticks with you. Now, “The Big Ugly” (2020) is a whole other beast. Gritty, grimy, British gangsters dropped into the American backwoods—just the sort of culture clash that feels like it shouldn’t work, but weirdly, it does. Sheets brings a kind of raw energy, not showy, just real, which is probably why you don’t even notice the seams. The guy doesn’t chase the spotlight, but you start to notice a thread—this knack for picking projects that linger in your head after the credits roll. He’s not cranking out blockbusters or mugging for the camera; instead, there’s this steady undercurrent, a sense he’s helping cook up something a little stranger, maybe even a little deeper, than you’d expect.