Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (born February 19, 1978) is an American director, writer, actor, and musician. He is a founding member of the East Bay punk band Link 80 and co-creator of the filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence. He is best known for his work in horror films, including V/H/S, Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI, Abigail and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. In 2026, Bettinelli-Olpin was included on New York Magazine's list of The 100 Most Powerful Directors in Hollywood and The Hollywood Reporter's list Top Genre Filmmakers of 2026: From Curry Barker to Guillermo del Toro.
Early life Raised in Oakland, California, Bettinelli-Olpin attended Chabot Elementary, Claremont Middle School and Bishop O'Dowd High School. He attended college at the University of California, Santa Cruz.G4 Attack of the Show ("Around the Net") http://revver.com/video/919676/cmr-on-g4-tvs-attack-of-the-show/
Career Music Bettinelli-Olpin formed the Bay Area punk band Link 80 in 1993. On the band's first two albums, 17 Reasons and Killing Katie, Bettinelli-Olpin played guitar, sang backing vocals and co-wrote the lyrics with singer Nick Traina. After leaving Link 80, Bettinelli-Olpin worked as a music journalist and interviewed bands including Alkaline Trio, Dropkick Murphy's, Lawrence Arms, Avail, Blur, Violent Femmes, the Breeders, the Mars Volta and the Psychedelic Furs.
In 2016, Bettinelli-Olpin played guitar in a Link 80 reunion for the Asian Man Records 20th Anniversary. On June 17 and 18, the band played two sold-out shows at the San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill. Before the shows, a video tribute to singer Nick Traina was shown. In 2021, a Link 80 cover of Rancid's "Junkie Man" was released on Lavasock Records' 25th anniversary tribute to Rancid's punk rock classic ...And Out Come the Wolves featuring Bettinelli-Olpin on vocals.
Film In 1999, Bettinelli-Olpin directed Alkaline Trio's first music video ("Goodbye Forever") while attending the University of California, Santa Cruz. In the early 2000s, he was roommates with The Lonely Island and in addition to appearing in many of their early shorts, Jorma Taccone said it was Bettinelli-Olpin's Roland BR-8 that the group used to record their first songs, saying "I made a bunch of beats on our roommate Matt’s BR-8 digital eight track and we would sample songs from records and loop stuff and then we would make four track beats and we’d stay up till 6:00 in the morning drinking and making songs". While working in the mailroom at New Line Cinema, he formed the filmmaking collective Chad, Matt & Rob in 2007 and Radio Silence in 2011."V/H/S" directors, Radio Silence, take on Found Footage Frankenstein Story
Chad, Matt & Rob Bettinelli-Olpin co-founded Chad, Matt & Rob with Chad Villella and Rob Polonsky in 2007. The group is known for their unique blend of comedy, adventure, sci-fi and horror. According to an interview in IndieWire, Bettinelli-Olpin worked in the mailroom and later as the office manager at New Line Cinema, where the group would sneak in after hours to use the offices as their sets. Among their numerous short films is the viral found footage style video Roommate Alien Prank Gone Bad and five installments of their first-of-its-kind series of Interactive Adventures. Their work online has over 100,000,000 views.Lawton, Christopher (2009-02-04), "Video Sites Entice Users To Stay and Play." Wall Street Journal
Radio Silence
After the dissolution of Chad, Matt & Rob, Bettinelli-Olpin formed Radio Silence with Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella. The group co-directed the 10/31/98 segment of the feature film V/H/S.Zeitchik, Steven (2011-10-13), "Wingard, West headline new Bloody Disgusting film." Los Angeles Times http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2011/10/ti-west-inkeepers-bloody-disgusting-adam-wingard-youre-next.html The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures in October 2012. The following year, they made Devil's Due for 20th Century Fox and in 2015, their film Southbound premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was released theatrically by the Orchard on February 5, 2016. Paul Thomas Anderson called the film "a hidden gem."Fangoria (Volume 2, Issue 3) Fangoria https://twitter.com/bradmiska/status/1110741195880308737
In 2019, Bettinelli-Olpin co-directed the well-reviewed comedic thriller Ready or Not with Tyler Gillett for Fox Searchlight. The film stars Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Andie MacDowell, and Mark O'Brien. The film was nominated for Best Horror Film at the 46th Saturn Awards.
In March 2020, it was announced that Bettinelli-Olpin would co-direct the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, alongside Tyler Gillett, with Kevin Williamson serving as executive producer. The film was released on January 14, 2022. The film was nominated for Best Movie at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.
In 2022, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett directed Scream VI which was released on March 10, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. The film won Best Movie at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards and ranked #3 on The Hollywood Reporters list of "The Best Slasher Movies of the Decade".
In 2023, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett directed Abigail which was released on April 19, 2024, by Universal Pictures. The film was nominated for Best Wide Release Movie at the 2024 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. and included on many best of 2024 lists including Variety's "The Best Horror Movies of 2024", Screen Rant's "10 Best Horror Movies Of 2024", Bloody Disgustings "The 10 Best Horror Movies Released in the First Half of 2024", Time Out's "The Best Horror Movies of 2024" and SlashFilms "The 19 Best Horror Movies Of 2024 So Far".
Filmed in Toronto during the spring of 2025 and released on March 20, 2026, by Fox Searchlight, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come stars Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood. The film premiered at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 13, 2026, received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $41 million against a $14 million budget.
In almost all of their films, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have used music from Asian Man Records artists including Alkaline Trio, Link 80, MU330 and Laura Stevenson and the Cans as well as music from the Bay Area including Too Short, The Atom Age, Link 80, The Jacka, Kamaiyah and P-Lo.
Bettinelli-Olpin portrays Michael Myers in Scream in the film within a film Stab 8 and Ghostface on the TV news segment in Scream VI.
Bettinelli-Olpin is also a producer on V/H/S, V/H/S/94, V/H/S/99 and V/H/S/85.
Discography The Link 80 & Wet Nap Split (1995) Remember How It Used To Be EP (1995) Rumble At The Tracks EP (1996) 17 Reasons (1996) Killing Katie (1997)
Filmography Film Year Director Writer Actor Editor Producer Notes V/H/S 2012 Segment "10/31/98", Role: Matt Devil's Due 2014 Southbound 2015 Role: Jack Ready or Not 2019 Phobias 2021 V/H/S/94 2021 Scream 2022 V/H/S/99 2022 Scream VI 2023 V/H/S/85 2023 Abigail 2024 Fountain of Youth 2025 Scream 7 2026 Ready or Not 2: Here I Come 2026 Untitled The Mummy Returns sequel 2027 Filming White Elephant TBA
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result2012SXSWMidnight Audience Award (shared with Ti West, Adam Wingard, et al.) V/H/SSitges Film Festival Best Motion PictureGolden Schmoes Awards Best Horror Movie2016iHorrorBest Direct Release Horror(shared with David Bruckner, Roxanne Benjamin, et al.) Southbound2019Sitges Film FestivalBest Motion Picture Ready or NotFright Meter AwardsBest Horror MovieGolden Schmoes Awards Best Horror MovieGolden Schmoes Awards Biggest Surprise of the YearIGN Summer Movie AwardsBest Horror MovieFantasy Filmfest Best 1st or 2nd FeatureSt. Louis Film Critics Association Awards Best Horror Film2020Fangoria Chainsaw AwardsBest Wide ReleaseHollywood Critics Association Film AwardsBest Horror FilmHawaii Film Critics Society AwardsBest Horror FilmColumbus Film Critics Association Awards Best Overlooked FilmMusic City Film Critics Association AwardsBest Horror Film2021Saturn AwardsBest Horror FilmAcademy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror FilmsBest Horror Film2022MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest Movie Scream (2022)People's Choice AwardsBest MovieHollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards Best HorrorThe Queerties Best Studio MovieSt. Louis Film Critics Association Awards Best Horror FilmGLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Film Wide Theatrical ReleaseSaturn Awards Best Horror Film2023MTV Movie & TV AwardsBest Movie Scream VIHollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards Best HorrorSaturn Awards Best Horror FilmMTV Millennial Awards Best Movie2024People's Choice AwardsThe Drama Movie of the Year Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror FilmsBest Horror FilmCritics' Choice Super AwardsBest Horror MovieGolden Schmoes AwardsBest Horror Movie Music City Film Critics' Association AwardsBest Horror FilmAstra Film AwardsBest Horror FeatureDiscussingFilm Critic AwardsBest Horror FilmFangoria Chainsaw AwardsBest Wide Release Abigail7th Astra Midseason Movie AwardsBest Horror Movie2025 Saturn Awards Best Horror Movie 2026South by SouthwestHeadliner Audience Award Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Notes
References
External links
Radio Silence Chad, Matt & Rob Link 80