Bed Rest: Melissa Barrera to star in supernatural thriller

On January 14, 2022, we’ll have the chance to see how Melissa Barrera fares against Ghostface when the new Scream movie reaches theatres. Her performance as the character Samantha Carpenter in that film must be quite impressive, because the Scream producers at Project X are teaming up with her again, casting her as the lead in their supernatural thriller Bed Rest.

Screenwriter Lori Evans Taylor will be making her feature directorial debut on Bed Rest. Here’s the synopsis:

After years of struggling to start a family, Julie Rivers (Barrera) is pregnant again and moving into a new home with her husband as they embrace a fresh start. Upon being ordered to mandatory bed rest, Julie begins to slowly unravel as she suffers through the monotony and anxiety of her new constraints. Soon, terrifying ghostly experiences in the home begin to close in on Julie, stirring up her past demons and causing others to question her mental stability. Trapped and forced to face her past and the supernatural, Julie fights to protect herself and her unborn baby.

Evans Taylor and Barrera will be earning producing credits on the film alongside Project X’s William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein. BondIt Media Finance is providing the funding.

Bed Rest starts filming in Winnipeg next month, and Deadline reports that STXfilms has already picked up the worldwide rights. STXfilms will be releasing the film themselves in the US, the UK, and Ireland, and in the rest of the world they’ll release it through their network of foreign distribution partners. Sam Brown, Marisa Moreno, and Alexandria Martin are overseeing the project for the studio.

It’s good to see that this will be heading into production soon, because we first heard about Bed Rest six years ago, when the script started making the rounds and ended up being featured on the Black List, which puts a spotlight on the best unproduced scripts in the industry. At one point the project was set up at MGM, with Chernobyl Diaries‘ Brad Parker attached to direct.

STXfilms’ Adam Fogelson says Bed Rest is

a chilling supernatural cinematic thriller. Lori Evans Taylor’s script was on the Black List for a reason: her compelling writing comes from a personal point of view we haven’t often seen on the big screen, and that will elevate the material. We’re also big believers in Melissa Barrera’s talent as an actress to bring this character to life. Horror has been a consistently successful genre for us at STX, and as a studio with a strong track record supporting female filmmakers, we are proud to be releasing Lori’s directorial debut. We’re also thrilled to be in business with William, James, Paul and the Team at Project X on a movie that will keep audiences riveted.”

The Project X trio provided the following statement:

We have known Lori both personally and professionally for years and have always been huge fans of her writing. This screenplay was so unnerving and deeply felt, we knew she was the right director to bring this to the screen. We had just worked with Melissa on Scream, where we saw her incredible talent first hand. We’re thrilled to have put them together, and that our longtime friends at STX will be our partners on this project. Their success with low and mid budget films and their commitment to female and diverse talent, both in front of and behind the camera, make them the ideal home for this film.”