Huntsville Native Allison Hayhurst’s Debut Feature Now Streaming on Amazon Prime

Nearly a year after its Huntsville premiere drew a near-sold-out crowd at Lowe Mill, Allison Moy Hayhurst’s debut feature film has found its widest audience yet. “And Through The Portal We Go” is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Relay, giving North Alabama viewers and audiences nationwide their first chance to watch the award winning indie comedy from home.  

Hayhurst, a Grissom High School and University of Alabama graduate now based in New York, produced the film through Evening Squire Productions, the independent production company she co-founded with her husband, director Mike Hayhurst.  

The film made its Alabama debut at the Southern Fried Film Festival last June, where it played to an enthusiastic hometown crowd before completing its run on the festival circuit.  

The premise leans into absurdity: three remaining members of a cult attempt to achieve transcendence by stepping through a mysterious glowing portal in the woods, only to find themselves looping back to the start of the previous day, over and over. What follows is a darkly comic reckoning with faith, belonging, and self-deception. The Alabama Take described the film as one that “questions what keeps us from being our best selves,” calling its mix of comedy and reflection “quiet, unsettling fun.”

 

The road to streaming was paved with recognition. The film collected multiple awards during its festival run, including Best Narrative Feature at both the Fisheye Film Festival and Broad Street Film Festival, Best Fantasy Feature at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco, and Best Acting Ensemble at Black Bear Film Festival. Taylor Dalton Curtis, a Tuscaloosa native and University of Alabama alum who co-wrote the script, won Best Actor at the film’s premiere at the Gig Harbor Film Festival.  

“And Through The Portal We Go” is also notable for how it was made. Shot over nine days with a nine-person cast and crew on a limited budget, it reflects the kind of resourceful filmmaking Hayhurst has described as deeply tied to her background in tech and entrepreneurship.  

Mike Hayhurst, who was born and raised in the UK, wrote, directed, and edited the film. His previous credits include work on “The Trip to Bountiful” with Cicely Tyson and “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” with Whoopi Goldberg.  

For Huntsville, the streaming release is not the end of the story. Hayhurst confirmed that the team shot their second feature film in the Rocket City this past February, a development that delivers on the promise she made during last year’s premiere, when she said the city was their first choice for a follow-up production. Details on that project have not yet been announced.  

“And Through The Portal We Go” is available now on Amazon Prime Video and Relay.  

Additional streaming and rental platforms are expected to follow.