After making a number of short films he directed Coda (1987) a TV movie about a serial killer. The following year he earned an AFI nomination for his feature debut Fever, which was not released to cinemas but sold widely on DVD and video and made a profit. [citation needed]
Lahiff died on 2 February 2014.[4] At the time of his death he was developing two film noirs with regular producer Helen Leake as part of a film noir trilogy started by Swerve, and a biopic of General Sir John Monash with frequent collaborator Louis Nowra. He had married in 1976 but the marriage was dissolved. He had twin sons, Sean and Daland.[5]