Independent Film Company and Shudder today announced that they have acquired the supernatural body horror Saccharine from XYZ Films ahead of its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Midori Francis (Grey’s Anatomy, Unseen), Danielle Macdonald (The Tourist, Dumplin’), and Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time, Dora and the Lost City of Gold).
Saccharine, written and directed by Natalie Erika James, marks her third feature following her acclaimed psychological horror debut Relic and Apartment 7A. The deal includes rights in North America and the UK. Saccharine will have a theatrical release ahead of its Shudder debut in 2026. The film follows Hana (Francis), a medical student who becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with Independent Film Company and Shudder again after our experience releasing Relic together in 2020. They’re an incredible team with a deep understanding of genre and a real commitment to filmmakers,” said director Natalie Erika James.
“Natalie announced herself as a singular force with her haunting debut RELIC, a film that we were privileged to bring to audiences in 2020 via IFC Midnight,” said Emily Gotto, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Productions at Shudder. “With Saccharine, she returns with a chilling, utterly original vision that pierces our deepest obsessions with body image, reaffirming her work as a leading voice in genre cinema.”
Saccharine is a Carver Films and Thrum Films Production, financed by Screen Australia in conjunction with XYZ Films, IPR.VC, and Stan, in association with VicScreen. The film is produced by James, Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw (Run Rabbit Run, Relic).
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