INTRODUCTION
Everyone has a shadow self, or the unwanted, undesirable thoughts and memories that we suppress unconsciously. What if you were forced to peel back those layers, not only confront them, but to embrace them? ALYSSUM follows one such woman.

SYNOPSIS
Victoria Martin is a biracial woman whose traumatic childhood shapes her adult life in profound ways. As a child, Victoria endured poverty, family instability, and abuse. These traumas led her to repress her emotions and experiences as a psychological defense mechanism. Despite these challenges, Victoria receives therapy while in college through Dr. Ann Streeter. Victoria succeeds academically, becomes a psychiatrist specializing in childhood trauma, and develops a theory about integrating repressed aspects of one's personality (the "shadow self") using Swiss Psychiatrist Dr. Carl Jung’s philosophies and an AI blueprint. It creates a buzz and earns her one of the highest honors at her graduation.
As an act of loyalty, she temporarily forgoes clinical trials of her device to work with Dr. Streeter at her new family therapy practice in Portland. While providing therapy to a child client, she becomes emotionally attached and desires a child of her own. Not wanting to complicate her life by involving a partner, she confides in Dr. Streeter, who recommends she undergo a cloning procedure using DNA from her brain performed by an underground Austrian scientist.
What she actually receives is her own prototype that integrates her DNA with an implanted AI device. The resulting "daughter," Alyssa, ages rapidly and eventually becomes a physical manifestation of her repressed self; a mirror born not of love, but of trauma and unresolved guilt.
As Alyssa begins to act out Victoria's repressed violent impulses, including murdering her childhood abuser. After an intense confrontation with Dr. Streeter and the Austrian Scientist at his secret lab, Victoria discovers the truth – her trusted friend and colleague stole her repression theory work and working alongside the Austrian scientist hoped to get credit for the groundbreaking discovery by using her as the test subject, manipulating her thoughts, and creating haunting hallucinations and the illusion of raising her child.

The film concludes with Victoria reconciling with her mother, and in a deeply emotional scene that delivers catharsis and redefines the meaning of connection and closure, she finally meets her father. She is finally mentally prepared to rekindle a romantic relationship from high school and start a family of her own. However, an ominous figure watching from afar suggests that her moments of lucidity may have only been a misapprehension.

The premise of ALYSSUM combines psychological theory, science fiction, and family drama to explore trauma, repression, and the healing process. Within our struggles lies an invitation, a chance to battle the demons of our past and uncover the gems of self-discovery.

THEMES
There are several woven themes in this film.
• The purple Alyssum flower. Alyssum is derived from the Greek word meaning “without madness”, or “healing”. Alyssa’s name is derived from this particular flower, and until Victoria accepts Alyssa, without judgment, she cannot be made whole.
• Ladybugs appear in different forms throughout the film and have special meaning.
• Victoria experiences apparitions of Dr. Carl Jung during pivotal times in the story. He acts as a symbolic father figure and helps her go through the “door” that integrates her with her repressed self.
• Victoria struggles with her biracial identity, as for the majority of her life, she has only had connections with the Caucasian side of her family. She was rejected, ostracized, and misunderstood, but eventually learns to forgive, love, and accept both parts of her ethnicity.

TONE
ALYSSUM operates in a space between science and soul, fusing speculative bioethics with Jungian psychology. The tone is brooding, intimate, and surreal. This film asks unsettling questions such as:
• Can science give us what the soul hasn’t healed?
• Is it possible to mother your inner child by giving her form?
• What happens when our deepest wounds are brought to life?

This film is a haunting meditation on identity, ethics, generational trauma, and the perilous pursuit of perfection.
Visually, it combines cold clinical futurism with the warmth and distortion of memory. Stylistically, the narrative walks a fine line between psychological realism and surrealist slow-burn horror, blurring the borders of reality and imagination until the final, devastating truth is revealed.

COMPS
ALYSSUM is cerebral and emotionally intense. Audiences are fans of Shutter Island, Get Out, and A Beautiful Mind. It blends Black Swan, Ex Machina, and Possessor into a thought-provoking, haunting narrative about identity, betrayal, and personal awakening.

FINAL NOTE
ALYSSUM was born out of my own trauma and my journey to healing and acceptance. I blended pieces from my own childhood with a few painful adult experiences. My love for science-fiction thrillers and horror adds a genre-bending plot that I believe is a new and refreshing take on this type of subject matter.