Saccharine, the second feature from writer-director Natalie Erika James, premiered in the Midnight section of Sundance in January 2026, ran in US cinemas from 22 May, and is now streaming on Shudder as of 24 July.
The Australian production, backed by Carver Films, Thrum Films, Screen Australia, XYZ Films and Stan, was shot across Melbourne, including Docklands Studios and La Trobe University. For anyone who missed its festival and theatrical run, Shudder is currently the confirmed way to watch it.
The film follows Hana, a lonely medical student who falls into an obscure weight-loss trend built around consuming human ashes, then finds herself stalked by the ghost of the person whose remains she has eaten. Midori Francis leads as Hana, with Danielle Macdonald, Madeleine Madden and Robert Taylor rounding out the cast. James, who also wrote the script, builds the 113-minute horror-drama around disordered eating and body image rather than a conventional haunted-house setup, using the supernatural premise as a literal extension of Hana's self-destructive relationship with her own body.
James made her name with 2020's Relic, a generational-trauma ghost story that earned wide critical praise, and Saccharine is a deliberate change of register rather than a repeat. The screenplay is scalpel-sharp, and James uses convex reflections and skewed framing of Melbourne's architecture to unsettle without leaning on effects, with Francis's physically demanding performance as the film's anchor. It carries less emotional weight than Relic's family trauma, but it is just as effective turning inward.
Saccharine suits viewers drawn to body horror with a psychological, character-first bent rather than jump scares, and anyone who responded to Relic's mix of dread and sadness will recognize James's hand here. It works best for horror audiences comfortable with a story about disordered eating and body image told through a supernatural lens, and for fans of Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald or Madeleine Madden looking for a showcase built around a demanding lead performance.
