Alexandra Jade, a horror filmmaker known for having co-written and co-directed the horror anthology, “Triple Thriller” with her partner Gabriel Bernini has returned with her debut feature. “Blood Barn”, starring Chloe Cherry and co-written with Gabriel Bernini once again, was released in late 2025. Alexandra discusses the making of “Blood Barn” and what’s next with Horror Valentines.

Ella Valentine: Hi Alexandra, it’s a pleasure to have you here! Congratulations on co-writing your first feature, Blood Barn! Tell us more about the movie!

Alexandra Jade: Blood Barn is an ultra-low budget campy horror that my partner Gabriel and I created and filmed in Massachusetts over 11 days with a bunch of our friends!

Ella Valentine: Sounds like so much fun! How did you and Gabriel find each other and what made you realise your visions aligned so well?

Alexandra Jade: Gabriel and I are also a couple who, when we first met, connected a lot over movies. In October of 2022 we went to a Mario Bava triple feature and were so inspired that we decided we would make a SOV giallo-style short and screen it for my birthday. Then people were so amped that we kept getting people involved and ended up making 2 more, which resulted in the anthology that is streaming on Troma Now! It was so fun and wacky making things that way, there wasn’t much of a question about our visions. We just worked well together, so the natural progression seemed to be making a feature.

Ella Valentine: What inspired Blood Barn? 

Alexandra Jade: Blood Barn came about initially because we had access to this barn in Massachusetts that was a legendary recording studio. Long View Farms operated from the 70’s to the early 2000s when the music industry changed. Bands like Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, and Aerosmith were there; Bad Brains, Wilco, LCD Soundsystem, the list goes on. But now it has been sitting unused, not sure if the structure will survive another winter, so there was an impetus to film something there in hopes of immortalizing it. Even though it was in rough shape, it was still so ornate and such a special place.

So with a single location in mind we started to write the script with the glaring influence of Evil Dead. Not just stylistically, but we were so inspired by Sam Raimi and the making of the movie. Also the single location in the woods meant we watched a lot of classic slashers like Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp. So we kind of tried our best to follow the sort of formula of those 80’s movies to best reproduce that vibe while utilizing the space of the barn itself. 

Ella Valentine: I have collaborated on a script too so I know some of the challenges that occurred for me, what was the experience like for you?

Alexandra Jade: That’s all to say that working on the script together obviously had our moments of differing opinions and ideas, but we were working from the same source material and had the confines of the space to keep us pretty aligned a lot of the time.

Ella Valentine: Do you have any expectations about how the audience is going to react to the film and is there a particular part in it you’re excited for people to see?

Alexandra Jade: I just hope some of the fun that was making the movie comes out when people watch it. We really were a group of friends who went out into rural Massachusetts to shoot this movie. The cast all stayed at a gorgeous airbnb on a lake, so they were really having a camp experience. Gabe and I were sleeping in a little apartment attached to the barn so we were there 24/7. It was also November in New England, and the barn had no heat, but we were pretending like it was summertime. Everyone wore a lot of hats on the production since it was such a small team and crazy situation, so it was intense but a lot of fun and made with a lot of love. And I hope people are taken along for the ride.

Ella Valentine: I’m sure they will be! What are you working on these days?

Alexandra Jade: Gabe and I have a myriad of scripts in various stages, almost all horror. We have one completed script that we would love to film in Los Angeles this summer – I think we are going to try and make it happen however we can.

Ella Valentine: Looking forward to hearing more about it in the future! Who are some of the screenwriters you admire or you’d like to collaborate with one day? 

Alexandra Jade: I’ve been watching a lot of sex-ploitation lately, rewatching Doris Wishman who is an all timer for me. There are so many incredible contemporary filmmakers trying to bring back the theater experience. Vera Drew is fantastic and had a great run of LA screenings for The Peoples Joker.

Ella Valentine: What are you reading right now? 

Alexandra Jade: I deemed 2026 my year of the big book so I’m reading the most daunting novels on my TBR. I’m in the middle of Demons by Dostoyevsky, but I’m also making my way through a 900 page biography about the actor Peter Sellers.

Ella Valentine: Can you share any advice you would give to writers working on their first movie?

Alexandra Jade: I think that having a serious drive and commitment to seeing something through is most important. Not to wait for the perfect circumstances, or for everything to just fall into place – in fact having perimeters can really help the process. You have to figure out how to work within the confines of your circumstances which can produce something special.

Ella Valentine: What’s the big dream?

Alexandra Jade: To keep doing it! To always have a project to work on. To make a movie every year, even if that means running around with one camera, guerilla-style, stealing locations, and making whatever we can.