Writer, director and actress Emily Bennett is an Academy recognized screenwriter and award-winning director. Her films Alone With You, Accidental Stars, LVRS and Bed have screened at festivals such as Sitges, Fantastic Fest, Brooklyn Horror, Telluride Horror, Film Quest, BIFAN, Salem Horror and Fantasia. Her screenplay ACHE placed quarter finalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship (2020).

Her debut feature Alone With You premiered at Fantastic Fest and won a 2023 Fangoria Chainsaw Award. The film was produced by Andrew Corkin and actor Theo James (The Monkey, Martha Marcy May Marlene, We Are What We Are).

We were lucky to have the chance to speak to Emily about writing, directing and acting in Alone With You given how busy she is working on her upcoming horror projects.

Ella Valentine: Hi Emily! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. I recently saw “Alone With You” and I have to say, I really wish I hadn’t been home alone while watching it! It was such a great psychological horror that really gets to you! There is so much to unpack here but tell us first about how you and Justin got to work together on this project and what was the inspiration behind it?

Emily Bennett: I had just moved in with Justin before the pandemic hit, and in the delirious claustrophobic year of 2020 we wanted to put our bottled energy to good use. Justin wrote a short film script that was the initial inspiration for Alone With You, and from that script we developed the feature. The feature became vastly different than the short film. We changed the main character from male to female, and we got rid of the Lovecraftian monster elements to focus on the psychological horror in the story. The result was a Repulsion-esque chamber piece horror film that we’re incredibly proud of. We had no crew, and our producers Theo James (THE MONKEY) and Andrew Corkin were great supporters from afar. Our time in quarantine inspired this love-fueled psychological horror film and we hope audiences continue to return to it with fresh eyes to experience it all over again. Though the film was created during the COVID pandemic, the themes of unrequited love, loneliness and madness are evergreen.

Ella Valentine: I agree. The film was very relatable, especially for those of us who have been desperately in love. How did you approach this character as an actress? Because you wrote, directed and starred in it! It must have opened up all sorts of challenging situations. How did you balance them all out?

Emily Bennett: It was certainly challenging to balance my responsibilities because of how much I was doing. I did a great deal of production design, helped Justin with lighting setups, then created a schedule for the day before doing my own hair and makeup and finally getting into character. But the stress of balancing all of these elements oddly served my process as an actress. Because Charlie becomes increasingly overwhelmed by forces greater than her conscious mind, I just let the immensity of the film overtake me. My work as an actor wasn’t to generate emotion, but rather to be available to be disturbed by the unexpected things that were happening in the story. Instead of trying to descend into madness, I was constantly fighting the urge to panic. Art mimicked life in this film, and as an actress that was a strange kind of gift. You don’t have to act something you’re actually experiencing in the moment, so I learned to give in and let overwhelming moments genuinely overtake me. The performance came easily after that. If you leave yourself open, it’s far easier to slip into madness than you might think.

Ella Valentine: You are alone on screen for the majority of the film which really helps and accentuates the fear and paranoia the character, Charlie is going through. Did that make it more difficult to have to rely only on yourself as an actress, and as a director in that sense without having to bounce off a cast mate?

Emily Bennett: At  first, it was more difficult simply because the idea of being completely alone on screen with no actual scene partners for most of the film was intimidating. But when you can’t rely on a scene partner or immediate stimuli as an actor, that’s when your imagination takes over and sometimes the most profound discoveries can happen. Charlie doesn’t exist outside of relationships. Quite to the contrary, her relationships define her to a troubling degree, so I filled my head and heart with these relationships. I formed them all fully in myself, which created a kind of emotional net to fall into. Anytime I was self conscious and thought, “gosh it’s just me, alone, acting to nothing,” I re-grounded myself in the relationships in Charlie’s life and the rest fell into place quite easily. No human being is an island. Everyone needs a relationship of some kind to survive and function in the world. Charlie is no different.

Ella Valentine: Speaking of directing craft, was there a particular scene or emotion that was harder to get right? And what was the mood like on the set? Because the movie is quite dark and your character is so distressed in it – it’s hard to imagine you having fun on set!

Ella Valentine: The hardest scene for me was the scene where I was sitting on the stairs, talking to my friend Thea for the last time. We were in our final week of shooting the film, and my brain was absolutely fried. To make matters worse, our hairless cat Wednesday was being a total diva and ruining the sound for every take. When I was sitting on the stairs talking to a green screen/Thea, trying to figure out what’s going on, I couldn’t remember a single line. Charlie’s panic and tears were all entirely real, but they weren’t because of the script. They were because of my cat. It’s hilarious in hindsight, but that was the hardest day for me. After months of isolation and weeks of shooting a feature film under incredibly difficult conditions, my brain finally broke. I don’t even remember doing that scene now. I just know what ended up in the film. Of course now, I look back on that day and laugh. Maybe Wednesday was just helping me get into character after all.

Ella Valentine: I’m sure Wednesday was trying to help! Going back to feeling in love, did you go back to previous past experiences when writing “Alone With You”?

Emily Bennett: Of course. Like many people, young love felt so all consuming for me. I seemed to fall in love constantly when I was younger, but it was always unsure and fleeting. When I was younger, I remember feeling so infatuated and obsessed with love that the world seemed to slip away. It’s a beautiful experience. It’s why we have great works of poetry. It’s why operas and symphonies and great works of art are created. But there is a dark side of love too, and I’ve definitely experienced that as well. Writing Alone With You was challenging because it required me to go into those beautiful, twisted, dark places, but I guess I’m a masochist. I love delving deep, and making the work so personal it becomes universal again. I think the best art comes from deeply personal experiences that artists choose to share. I’m grateful for all of my past romantic experiences because they all led me to creating this film with Justin.

Ella Valentine: Do you see love obsession only as a negative thing?

Emily Bennett: Not at all. I think being obsessed with love can be a beautiful thing, as long as it’s not causing harm to someone else. I’m a very focused (sometimes too focused) person. I often find myself having tunnel vision, unable to focus on anything but a single idea or emotion. This obsession has led to some of my best work. Obsessing about love is a part of growing up, I think. I remember lying on my stomach in my bedroom as a young girl, fawning over pictures of Hollywood stars I had crushes on. Later, that obsession turned towards real people in my life. I’d hang on every word, glance or mood of theirs, hoping it would bring me closer to them. Of course obsession can go too far and start to disrupt the lives of both parties, but I think obsession can also fuel some of the greatest works of art and literature. After all, I don’t want to read a novel about a lukewarm romance. I want Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet and Harold and Maude. I want to experience remarkable love stories and feel that I’m capable of a love like that.

Ella Valentine: I couldn’t agree more! You have been involved in short films and TV series besides features, as well as acting, writing and directing. What resonates best and will you stick to horror going forward?

Emily Bennett: I don’t think I’ll ever choose. Each discipline feeds me in different ways, and eventually makes the others better. I’ve been an actor my entire life, and I’m honestly not even sure I could stop if I tried. I’m often the happiest when I’m in a role, even if the role is challenging. But acting makes my writing more grounded because I can put myself in each characters’ point of view. Both fuel my directing because I understand the overall story arc, but I also understand the physical and emotional experience of living that story moment by moment as an actor. I can’t answer that. I hope to do all of them for the rest of my life.

Ella Valentine: Horror had a big year in 2024! What are your favorite horrors from last year?

Emily Bennett: Red Rooms, I Saw the TV Glow, The Substance and The First Omen were my favorite horror/genre films from last year. The filmmakers of each film are singular voices and it was thrilling to see such a great variety of exciting stories on screen last year.

Ella Valentine: I loved those too. Are you binging any TV series at the moment?

Emily Bennett: The White Lotus is always ridiculous and fun to watch. I’m really enjoying Carrie Coon right now. She’s one of our greatest living actors, I think. I just started Adolescence on Netflix and I’m excited and terrified to keep going. Great show. Brilliant actors. Exciting camera work. What more can you ask for?

Ella Valentine: Adolescence was absolutely brilliant! And I agree, it’s always fun to watch The White Lotus! Tell us more about your interests outside of the industry. What inspired you or keeps you going when life gets tough?

Emily Bennett: My family, returning to nature, traveling and swimming/running/working out are all ways I return to myself. I’ve also always written poetry, so I return to that quite often. No one ever sees those poems. They’re for me, and they make me remember who I am.

Ella Valentine: I write poetry too and I hope to get to read yours one day! Do you have one last message for female psychological horror writers, directors or actresses?

Emily Bennett: Don’t follow trends. They’ll change by the time you get enough money to make the thing. Listen to yourself. Go with your gut. Trust yourself. Tell stories that actually scare you. What keeps you up at night? What do you obsess over? Those are the things you need to follow. Instinct is vital to creating exciting work. Figure out how to really listen to your gut and follow it as closely as you possibly can.

Ella Valentine: Thank you so much for being here! We can’t wait to see your next movie already!

Emily Bennett: It’s coming soon. Stay tuned!