Much like Shirley Jackson before her Jamie Alvey delights in what she fears. Alvey’s start in the world of horror began much like many others; she loved scary stories as a child. With a horror fan mother and a cinephile father, she was raised on a steady diet of varied media and grew to be a reader, writer, and actress. Alvey’s child and teen years were marked by isolation, depression, and uncertainty due to intense bullying, and as a result she further retreated into the world of film and fiction. This led to her writing her own short stories, which by her own admissions were poor Twilight rip offs. Her craft became more unique as the years passed when she found her innate creative voice and started to blossom in her own right as a writer and actor. She went on to attend Brescia University and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English and theatre. After obtaining her BA she successfully earned her MA in English literature from Mercy College. It was during this time period that Alvey made her first official forays into journalism and academic analysis, choosing to focus on horror and its relationship to feminism, psychology, and literature. Alvey also made a conscious effort to reconnect with her creative spirit post undergrad, and she finished the first draft of her feature screenplay Bystanders in 2017. The off-beat feminist take on exploitation horror would become one of the greatest loves of Alvey’s life. Bystanders was greatly influenced by Alvey’s own experiences with PTSD and her rage concerning rape culture and toxic masculinity. Working diligently for years and continually improving the screenplay, Alvey’s dream of seeing her work come to life came true in January 2023 when Bystanders was greenlit by Epic Pictures. During pre-production for “Your Husband Was a Good Man,” Alvey underwent testing for autism spectrum disorder. The testing confirmed that Alvey is on the spectrum along with having ADHD and OCD. Her prior diagnosis of PTSD was reaffirmed during this process as well. After spending much of her life feeling like an outsider, Alvey finally had the tools and terminology to manage her mental health and life more effectively. Outside of her work on Bystanders and “Your Husband Was a Good Man,” Alvey is perhaps best known for her award winning feature screenplay Housewife, a genre blending story that is best described as Shirley Jackson meets George A. Romero. Her other works include the romantic horror short screenplay “The Second Circle,” the domestic psychological horror short screenplay “Trad,” and the proof of concept short rom-com horror hybrid “Boy Sober.” She is developing a feature version of “Your Husband Was a Good Man” and a sequel to Bystanders while preparing to produce “The Second Circle.” As always, she has other horrors percolating on the back burner in addition to these. When she’s not writing, working, watching horror movies, or reading, Alvey can be found spending time with her dogs, her friends, or by herself overthinking literally everything. No one knows what she will do next, sometimes not even her. A full list of Alvey’s creative accolades can be found on her website.
