Melissa Barrera teases Scream directors' bloody, claustrophobic Universal monster movie

News
By published

Exclusive: The Carmen star gives GamesRadar+ some clues as to what to expect from her next horror venture

Melissa Barrera as Sam in Scream 6
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Melissa Barrera may be reuniting with her Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett for Universal's new Classic Monsters movie, but she promises the horror film will be a very different beast to their previous collaborations.

While promoting her new musical Carmen, which releases in the UK today, GamesRadar+ asked her about the upcoming flick, to which she revealed she's currently shooting it in Dublin, Ireland. "We're going to be here for the next two months and it's so cool," Barrera added. "I think it's a very different movie from Scream, you know? It's a completely different kind of vibe. But there's a lot of blood too.

"The cast is so great in it; it's a really small cast. It almost all happens in, like, one location so it's one of those... contained movies. I love to watch [those], they're my kind of movie so I'm very excited to be a part of this. I just don't want to say anything about the monster in it, it's a big spoiler. But yeah, it's really cool. We're all having a great time doing it."

Given Barrera's fairly tight-lipped response, it won't be a shock to learn that we don't know all that much about the plot of Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett's next genre outing. For now, all we have been told is that Barrera will share the screen with Matilda the Musical breakout Alisha Weir and Dan Stevens.

The Hole in the Ground scribe Stephen Shields is said to have written the script, with revisions made by Guy Bisick, who previously worked with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett on Ready or Not, Scream, and Scream 6. For now, plot details remain under wraps, but The Hollywood Reporter has previously suggested that the film was called Dracula's Daughter at one point. According to the publication, then, it was set to follow a group of serial kidnappers who get more than they bargained for when they inadvertently abduct the bloodsucking offspring of the titular vampire.

Back in 2017, Universal tried to launch a new era of Classic Monsters movies with The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise. Despite making $410 million at the global box-office, the film was said to have lost around $95m due to high production and marketing costs, and its poor critical reception led to the studio pulling the plug on its mapped-out 'Dark Universe' franchise.  

In 2020, it teamed with Blumhouse to bring out The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell's modern take on H. G. Wells' novel of the same name. The film, which was led by Elisabeth Moss, earned glowing reviews and made a respectable $144.5 million of a $7m budget.

Carmen, from Dazzler Media, is showing in select theaters across the UK now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way throughout 2023 and beyond.

Amy West
Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.