Melissa Barrera And Nicholas Hoult To Lead Erotic Horror THE ONE

Reality dating gets TOO real in Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley's upcoming nightmare.

By Amber T · @hornbloodfire · May 9, 2023, 12:35 PM EDT
Melissa Barrera Paramount Pictures

Fresh off their starring roles in Scream VI and Renfield respectively, THR tells us today that Melissa Barrera and Nicholas Hoult will star in The One, an upcoming "erotic nightmare" set in the world of reality dating.

Duo Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley will write and direct The One, while Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & The Six, The House That Jack Built) is set to produce with Gina Gammell via their production company Felix Culpa. Hoult also produces alongside Whitaker Lader via their production company Dead Duck Films.

The One is billed as “a nightmarish horror about the romantic and psychological warfare waged by our beloved popular entertainment — and also begs the question… are we, the viewers, complicit?” Ooh, sounds meta, we love it already. Here's the full plot synopsis from THR:

The One follows Taylor (Barrera), who makes a last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show. Now down to just herself and two other women competing to win the heart of Mason (Hoult), Taylor begins to feel the artifice of the show fade, and the game becomes terrifyingly real. Amidst the opulent beachfront setting, fairytale dates and ever-flowing champagne, pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry turns into treachery as reality itself blurs.

Lana Condor (To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before) will also star.

Here's what Armento and Bradley had to say about The One:

“We’ve been dreaming up this project for years, and are thrilled to now bring it to life with our actual dream team [...] Nick, Melissa, Riley, and Lana are some of the most exciting talents around, and their passion for this film — shared by our incredible producing — has us even more eager to make this nightmare a reality.”

HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales, with WME Independent and UTA co-repping the film for North America.

Needless to say, with that cast, premise and creative team, we're incredibly excited to see more from The One - and will of course be bringing you the updates as and when we get them!