Sean hails from Hobart, Tasmania and grew up watching horror movies at the drive-in with his dad. Throwing in a law degree to pursue his passion in films, Sean has just completed his first feature, a horror movie entitled The Loved Ones. His most recent short was Advantage (2007), which had its international premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2008.
While doing his Masters at the Australian Film Television & Radio School, Sean received both the Australian Screen Directors Association and Screen Sound Australia Awards for Excellence in Drama Directing for his shorts, Work?, Sport, Sunday and Ben. His award winning shorts have screened at national and international festivals and been broadcast in Australia, France and the United States.
The Loved Ones screenplay was nominated for the Inside Film Award for Best Unproduced Screenplay. When Sean isn’t directing shorts and features, he directs TV commercials for Renegade Films in Melbourne, Australia. He has directed spots for Cadburys, Nintendo and Ford, among others.
Occupation: Filmmaker
My childhood dream job was…to bat at first drop for Australia.
The first horror film I remember watching was …. Burnt Offerings (a poor man’s Psycho) followed by The Pack (about a pack of rabid dogs ripping campers apart). It was at The Elwick Drive Inn in Glenorchy, Tasmania. I was 4-y.o., in my pyjamas and supposed to be asleep at the time but my eyes couldn’t have been wider.
As a child the thing I was most afraid was under the bed/in the closet was…my school uniform. And it always was in the closet, which meant I had to go to school. No monster can compete with the horror of that.
The horror film that has had the biggest impact on my psyche is…I’ve only ever had one nightmare about a horror film. I dreamt that the werewolf in An American Werewolf In London was trying to eat me. I’d just seen the movie, I was 9-y.o. and it was a full moon…
I wish I’d written/sung/directed …I wish I’d written Vernon God Little. I wish I’d sung anything by Mike Patton or Tom Waits. I wish I’d directed both Blue Velvet and Pulp Fiction.
My greatest achievement to date is…The Loved Ones.
Sean Byrne with Xavier Samuel and Victoria Thaine on the set of The Loved Ones
The film of my life would be directed by … Paul Thomas Anderson hasn’t put a foot wrong so I’d start with him and starring …He’s such a brilliant director I’d never tell him who to cast.
The most useful career advice I’ve ever received was from … my AFTRS teachers George Whaley, Ross McGregor and Robin De Crespigny were always reminding me that “It’s all in the details” and to “Prepare, prepare, prepare”.
The last horror film I watched (aside from my own) was…Paranormal Activity 2.
Audiences enjoy watching horror films because…they get to be scared without being in danger.
My first filmmaking experience was …a video presentation for my Lawyers and Legal course at Law School. The subject was Trial By Media. I re-enacted Lorena Bobbit chopping off John Wayne Bobbit’s penis with a Ken and Barbie doll.
The scariest thing about making your debut feature film is…the lack of time.
Getting funding in Australia for a horror film is…not easy. But it’s not easy to get funding for any film. You’ve got to earn it. If at first you don’t succeed then either change vocations or try, try again…
The story for The Loved Ones was inspired by…Carrie, Misery, The Evil Dead, Pretty In Pink, Jeffrey Dahmer and Snow White’s yearning that someday her Prince will come.
My high school prom/formal experience was…no where near outrageous enough. That’s why I had to come up with The Loved Ones.
When casting a horror film you need actors who…are committed to the craft. The more talented the actors the more we care about the characters. The more we care the more we scare. It also helps if they’re sexy but that wasn’t my primary consideration.
You know your horror film is scary when…the audience jump, scream, peek between their fingers and talk to the screen. That’s the reaction The Loved Ones has been getting. Someone even fainted at the premiere. Fortunately there’s also laughs to balance the terror.
The Loved Ones success at international film festivals means…the film has credibility, which is unusual for a horror film.
Film still from The Loved Ones
I hope audiences leave the cinema after watching The Loved Ones thinking/feeling …like they’ve been on a roller-coaster with loops in unexpected places and that they want to line up and go again.
My advice for anyone who wants to make a horror film is …the audience already knows the rules, which gives you freedom to bend the rules. My motto is: one foot in commercial territory, the other dangling over a cliff.
What inspired responses! Imagine being in that Lawyers & Legal class – hilarious!