Born in Hitchin, England, Ryan spent his formative years with spells residing in both Canada and the United Kingdom. A graduate of the University of Lincoln’s Film & Television program in 2004, Ryan discovered his love for film at just 8-years-old when some friends introduced him to horror classics, The Lost Boys (1987), The Monster Squad (1987) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Now a 1st Assistant Director with over 15 years of experience working alongside a variety of celebrated international filmmakers, Ryan makes his directorial debut with the comedy/horror short film The Last Christmas (2021), a homage to the classic 80s and 90s horror movies that inspired him as an artist and as an individual.
Director Statement
Growing up in England during the 80s and 90s, I was very much a product of the American Pop Culture invasion of the time. With a particular affinity for Hollywood Cinema, as a young lad, I dreamt of emulating my heroes, such as Marty McFly, Ray Stantz, Fievel and The Goonies. When one fateful night, at just 8 years of age, two friends introduced me to a whole new world of cinematic wonders with horror classics, such as The Lost Boys (1987) The Monster Squad (1987) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). I was instantly drawn to the conflicting allure of the horror genre and thus my passion for film-making and the desire to tell my own stories of the macabre was confirmed.
With such romantic beginnings I wanted my short film debut to be a love letter to the very 80s and 90s horror and adventure movies that inspired me as an artist and as an individual. I’m sure, like all writer/directors, I was eager for an original idea that would be appealing and entertaining for a wide audience, while also allowing me to showcase my own style of visual storytelling with emphasis on character, performance, dialogue, theme and expressive lighting. Fortunately, the concept for The Last Christmas hit me like that of the Flux Capacitor to Doctor Emmett Brown, and despite no prior affinity for the festive season, I was immediately drawn to the darker themes of Christmas, such as greed, jealousy and vanity; commonly suppressed or sugar-coated during the festivities, studying these themes, along with the opportunity to explore preconceived notions and characters in unique ways would help ensure The Last Christmas is not only an original and appealing entry into a sub-genre starving of horror content, but an original and appealing entry into the horror genre as a whole.
Festival for HORROR 