Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Alvey.
Hi Jamie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am Jamie Alvey, a sleep deprived award winning multi-hyphenate who specializes in writing (both creative and analytical), acting, and filmmaking. I hold a MFA in creative writing, a MA in English literature, and a BA in English and theatre. So, I guess, it should come as no surprise that I endeavored to become a filmmaker and founded my own production company, Love and Horror Productions, in 2023 to further pursue the craft on my own terms. I originally hail from Munfordville, Kentucky, a small town in South Central Kentucky. Today I call Owensboro, Kentucky home, but my work has taken me across the Midwestern and Southern regions, either actually physically or artistically thanks to film festivals.
I am probably best known as the writer of and Clare Caulfield in the feminist exploitation horror film Bystanders, a homage to films like The Last House on the Left and Ms. 45 with a killer twist and a decent helping of dark humor. I spent several years perfecting the screenplay before taking the plunge and making an effort to bring the offbeat film to life. Bystanders was my big foray into the film world after almost twenty years of solely being a stage actor. I think it’s safe to say that film has always been a part of me as an audience member and a screenwriter, but now it’s a part of me in more unique ways as I have found my footing as a director and producer.
I am also the writer, director, producer, and star of the award winning short film “Your Husband Was a Good Man,” which is newly streaming on BloodStreamTV. The film follows Orla Cassidy, the bereaved widow of teacher Will Cassidy, who died tragically in a school shooting. Orla successfully brings her husband back from the dead using an arcane ritual. However, Will is not the same and starts craving human flesh. I can’t say you’ll have fun with this one per se, but it is thought provoking and heartbreaking
Currently, I am in the final stages of post-production on my latest short film titled “The Second Circle,” which is my favorite and most personal project to date. In addition to my film work, I have written for multiple publications including Fangoria, Certified Forgotten, and Morbidly Beautiful and have a chapter over Little Monsters (2019) in The Oxford Handbook of Black Horror Film edited by Drs. Novotny Lawrence and Robin R. Means Coleman.
My journey as a horror writer started in my youth, likely as a result of my overactive lonely bullied child imagination paired with, at the time, undiagnosed autism and ADHD. I read prolifically and watched as much indie horror as a middle of nowhere Kentucky girl would get her hands on.It’s not always been easy, but I can say it’s been worth it to arrive where I am now and continue on my path. I think that my past has given me some much needed perspective and allowed me to connect with others on a deeper and more meaningful level. One of my chief goals as a creative is to create a reflective space for emotional depth and self exploration. If you feel less alone, if you see yourself in a character or a situation, or you find yourself thinking deeply about the world around you, then I have done what I have set out to do in addition to entertaining you.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Much of my life has been measured in extremes. Highs are extremely high and lows are despairingly low. However, it’s all been useful in one way or another and led me to better and bright places and genuinely loving and caring people. You learn a lot about yourself when you’re constantly pushed into situations where you resort to repression and in a sense have agency stripped from you. That’s been a theme of my life since I was fourteen and had to deal with bullying at school that was so dire my pediatrician had me medically removed from school for a short period due to my rapidly declining mental health. The school administration had done pitiful little to ensure my safety and well-being, with one teacher telling me to “toughen up” instead of reprimanding the other children for mistreating me. To say I picked up maladaptive coping methods, including hyper independence, during this time would be an understatement By the time I was 16, I already had a PTSD diagnosis. A lot of these days were spent withdrawing into books, films, and my own juvenile writing.
I’ve struggled off and on for most of my life thanks to clashing personalities and garden variety cruelty. Living with undiagnosed autism and ADHD have not been easy. Many times I’ve felt broken and alone. I’ve been re-traumatized in ways that are truly stranger than any horror narrative, however, it has made for good inspiration in its own perverse way. I guess you can say I’m a big believer in emotional purging via the arts for the creative and the audience. For a while, I honestly wondered if it was possible that I was even meant to be happy or successful, but it’s always worked on in ways that are better than I have ever imagined. As cliched as it is, the only way out is through. This has led me to more abundant opportunities and genuine connections with people that I adore. Those people have inspired me and showed me that people can be kind and if they don’t understand me from the start, they earnestly try to understand. My life has deepened in love and creativity along the way. It took far too long to actively build community for myself, but I’ve accomplished that and will continue to do so. It was never easy, but it always worth it.
Of course, there’s the whole ordeal of coming from small town Kentucky. There’s lots and lots of barriers, as you can imagine, to careers in the arts, but I’ve made it a mission to make the arts more accessible to others here in the state. I would much rather struggle and fumble my way through the industry and the film scene, so someone else can have an easier time achieving their dreams. At one point in my life I considered moving away to have more opportunities elsewhere, but I dug my heels in and made the choice to make my own opportunities. I’m stubborn, and I believe the arts should thrive everywhere because no matter how difficult it is, every little step forward matters.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in filmmaking and writing, particularly in the horror genre, and I’m known for emotional depth, pushing boundaries, and fresh perspectives. One of my greatest strengths is that I don’t fear creating niche, odd, or polarizing art. I don’t shy away from experimentation because the world of storytelling within horror is actually more boundless than it seems because fear and genre are enormous ideas. There are some subgenres,–such as gothic horror–I gravitate to more than others, but I never want to limit myself to one type of horror. I’ve created extremely heavy handed stylized horror as well as subtle and affecting horror. It’s all in how you approach the subject matter and the story. Some people might feel boxed in by genre, but for me, there is freedom within those constraints. You are pushed to go deeper, sit in reflection, and approach familiar concepts in new ways in order to create something that invites the audience in and gives them the inherent novelty they crave. It’s all in the balance.
I bring a lot of my own neurodivergence to the table, perhaps the neurodivergence is the table but I digress, because I’ve always excelled at seeing what others cannot see when it comes to day to day life and societal issues. I often have no problem harnessing the power of discomfort because there is growth and knowledge hidden in the depths of discomfort. Having spent a life sat firmly in the middle of discomfort, it all came too naturally. We just have to willingly traverse the abyss of disgust, shock, horror, etc. I want to use that discomfort to make the audience think. Why does this make me uncomfortable? What does that say about me? What more is there to this narrative than the surface level events? Having strong themes and a proficient understanding of the human experience on a viscerally emotional level helps me mine these aspects of life. Making friends with what makes me uncomfortable and translating that to the written word and film has been a life saver.
My writing and filmmaking can be described as emotional alchemy, pulling from many of my own personal experiences to create emotionally autobiographical pieces that are resonate and speak to the current social and political landscape. I’m probably best known for personal narratives that are rooted in strong and authentic emotion. I like to delve into people and situations that are commonplace yet not explored to the extent they could be in media. Looking at the margins and the fringes of life and how the people I love and know are affected by their lives has provided heady inspiration as well. My friend Lesley always says, “Everyone she loves is all over her work.” That is very true. As much as I like to dabble in unease and gray areas that require nuance, there is great love that serves as the backbone of my work. Love for the genre, love for my family and friends, love for my collaborators, love for art, love for humanity–it’s all baked in there.
I think that to sum it all up, “The Second Circle” is what I am most proud of to date, and I cannot wait to share it with others and see how they connect to it. That short was a learning curve and an emotional wringer, but it’s been my greatest work and blessing to date. I finally felt like I earned the title filmmaker while shooting that one. It’s amazing to think that my own pain and experiences could create something that miraculously beautiful and collaborative. To say I love that short and the people who realized it and brought their own diverse artistic vision to it in addition to mine would be a gross understatement. I’m still trying to encompass the awe of it all.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Good luck and bad luck have played an enormous role in my life and my journey in the creative world. I think that the bad luck has begotten better times and allowed better people to come into my life. What’s devastating in the moment might be the first step to a greater opportunity. It all sounds cliche, but I think I have died and found myself reborn a million times over 32 years. There are people that will give to you just as there are others that will selfishly take. You may have to battle your way through the latter to reach the former. That’s how bad luck can be transformative, at least for me. The path is unorthodox, but it has me traveling to better.
My life hasn’t always functioned as an exercise in joy, somedays it still doesn’t, but I am trying and learning to fail better in the process. Muscling your way through the haze of your own mind is not for the weak and doing it while attempting to remain soft and open is even more difficult. I mean, no one asks for a PTSD diagnosis in their teens. Regardless, I’m going to work with it and try to make a streak of bad luck that has overshadowed what should have been the best moments of my life into something more positive and productive. I will say I am lucky enough to be surrounded with people who are not afraid to snap me out of myself when I need it most, and they do it for me because they care about me. Genuine souls are rare in that way. I would not have most of those people if it weren’t for the bad luck I’ve been met with time and time again.
There are other ways that I consider myself innumerably lucky, ways that have nothing to do with bad luck turned on its head, including being born to parents that see value in the arts and my own artistic endeavors. That’s a priceless facet in a world that doesn’t always appreciate artistry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jamiealvey.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiealvey/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@madewithloveandhorror
- Other: https://loveandhorrorproductions.com/
