Kildare writer's book explores terrifying film series

Prolific Kildare writer and film historian Wayne Byrne is returning to the world of horror movies once again.

Following his best-selling book on the Freddy Krueger films, Welcome to Elm Street: Inside the Film and Television Nightmares, he has been tasked with documenting the legendary Halloween franchise. This is the subject of his eighth book, You Can’t Kill the Boogeyman: The Ongoing Halloween Saga – 13 Films and Counting. 

Byrne discovered the iconic horror series in the late-80s after his father taped a BBC screening of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, thinking his movie-loving son would like the bizarre tale of an evil Irish toymaker who wants to wipe out the child population of America on Halloween night. And he did. 

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“That was a seminal moment in my love of these movies,” he says. “This was 1989, so I six-years-old at the time, and I just loved this bizarre and entertaining movie. My dad would record some great movies of the TV for me that really stoked my passion for cinema, and by extension inspired my professional career as a writer.” 

A still from one of the movies

Film classification be damned, for young Byrne was soon perusing the video shop shelves of Hollywood Nights in Poplar Square and Street Test on the Dublin Road to devour the remainder of the Halloween movies, his appetite duly whetted following the taping of the third installment.

 “Those video shops in Naas were my film school. The guys behind the counter were quite lenient with me renting these 18-rated videos, so I really got to discover a lot of great movies there – the weirder the cover the more intrigued I became. But, most importantly, that was where I rented the other Halloween movies. I actually remember the day I rented Halloween 4 because I ended up loving it so much I didn’t want to return it. So, I have Hollywood Nights and Screen Test to thank for corrupting my youth and leading me to writing this book.” 

However, becoming an acclaimed chronicler of horror movie franchises was not something intentional, as the author admits.

 “I ended up writing this book because my Elm Street one did well and got great reviews; so, naturally publishers and agents want you to repeat the formula. But I resisted the idea of doing that until the suggestion of working with the Halloween franchise was brought to me. Apart from the opportunity to pay tribute to these films I love, and to my parents for supporting my passion, it was also an opportunity to write about the many great directors, composers, cinematographers, and actors who made these films. Those are the personal elements which ultimately dictate what subjects and projects I take on. It can only be personal. There is far too much time and work involved in writing books for me to focus on something that doesn’t have an emotional appeal for me.” 

When not celebrating slasher movies, Byrne has been busy charting the history of film music with his friend Amanda Kramer (of legendary 80s band The Psychedelic Furs) for another upcoming book called The Evolution of American Film Music, their second literary collaboration. 

“Amanda and I work very well together so we’ve just kept going. It’s easy working with your best friend because there is a shorthand at play that you don’t necessarily have with a more transactional working relationship. Covering the history of film music was a change of pace from a year spent watching all the Halloween movies. But what a year that was! And I’m thrilled for its imminent release.” 

You Can’t Kill the Boogeyman: The Ongoing Halloween Saga – 13 Films and Counting will be released on April 1 by Bloomsbury and is available to pre-order now from all good book shops.