Ella Hunt (Anna and the Apocalypse) is set to star in Bella, the first project for The Conjuring writers Chad & Carey W. Hayes’ new production banner Hayes Brothers Films, Deadline reports.
Chad’s son Dylan Hayes will make his feature directorial debut on the horror-thriller from a script by Chris Grillot.
Hunt will play Maria, a college student obsessed with winning her university’s upcoming beauty pageant begins to unravel under the pressure of her overbearing mother and the arrival of a mysterious stalker she believes is sabotaging her shot at the crown.
As the pageant nears, she races to uncover her stalker’s identity before it’s too late.
The Hayes Brothers are producing alongside Dylan Hayes, Mandy June Turpin of Iron North Productions, Daniel Ragussis of Atomic Features, and Todd Slater of Convoke Media. Executive producers include Isabel Echeverry of Kontakto Films and Ricky Russert of Atomic Features.
“When I read Bella I was immediately drawn into the psychological unraveling of this young woman grappling with toxic beauty standards and parental expectations, against a backdrop of pageantry,” commented Hunt. “Having long wanted to explore a mother daughter dynamic on screen I couldn’t be more excited to embark on this.”
“This is a story about beauty, control, and what happens when the mask cracks,” added Dylan Hayes.” Making my first feature with my dad and uncle producing feels surreal. I’ve spent my whole life watching them build character driven horror from the ground up. Chris’s script is incredibly layered. Ella is the perfect actor to bring Maria to life.”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be launching our Hayes Brothers Films banner with this incredible story that feels both bold and uniquely commercial,” said the Hayes Brothers. “When Chris Grillot’s script for Bella came to us, we immediately recognized something rare. Since The Conjuring, we’ve read hundreds of scripts to consider producing, but his exceptional writing talent convinced us that this was the one.”
Red Sea Media is launching world sales on the project at this week’s American Film Market.
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