‘Saccharine’ turns – Shudder’s upcoming body-horror film ‘Saccharine’ follows medical student Hana as wellness promises and pill-fueled weight loss quickly spiral into something far more monstrous—supported by standout work from Midori Francis. The film premiered at the 2026 Sunda
When Hana—played by Midori Francis—leans into bingeing and body obsession. it doesn’t take long for “trying to feel better” to become something darker. In ‘Saccharine. ’ that slide begins with the kind of wellness pitch that’s all too familiar: a 12-week course. a transformation story. and the hint that one little pill could change everything.
The effect is immediate. One pill helps Hana shed pounds in a way her bad eating habits and off-and-on gym routine never could. But the movie makes sure the relief comes with a receipt. As a medical student. Hana has access to equipment that lets her reverse engineer what’s in the pills—and the answer is as brutal as it is blunt: it’s made from human ashes.
‘Saccharine’ arrives already carrying a reputation. Filmmaker Natalie Erika James’ latest horror feature—‘Saccharine’—premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Shudder will release the film in select theaters beginning Friday, May 22.
James has built her career on the kind of unease that lingers. Her previous breakout hit ‘Relic’ is part of her foundation. and she expanded the world of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ with the ‘Apartment 7A’ prequel. With ‘Saccharine. ’ she pushes the body-horror focus even harder. packing in everything from generational trauma and body image to sexual identity. wellness social media posts. and even self-help journaling—though the film’s 112-minute running time can feel both tightly packed and oddly unable to fully land everything it tries to toss into the bowl.
Hana’s obsession doesn’t stay narrow. Her world is shaped by bodies of all kinds: a thin mother. an obese father. and her best friend Josie (Danielle Macdonald). who serves as a necessary voice of reason. There’s also Alanya (Madeleine Madden). the sexy and sweet trainer at Hana’s gym. and the obese cadaver Hana and Josie study in medical school—horrifyingly nicknamed “Big Bertha. ” a figure that soon becomes more than just a subject.
The film’s momentum builds from Hana’s fear and yearning into something far less controllable. She’s into girls but afraid to approach them, and even when an old friend—“once fat!. now thin!”—shows up at a bar, Hana isn’t just intrigued by the story. She’s drawn to the little gray pills her friend claims helped make her a “completely new person.”.
What follows is where James really turns the screw. Hana can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching her. Objects begin to shift, moved with escalating intent that slides toward full-scale possession territory. Big Bertha is everywhere in the film’s orbit. yet only visible to Hana when she gazes into a convex object—described in the film like a cool idea with no ultimate meaning until it starts meaning everything.
The movie’s gross-out horror is relentless and, for fans of the genre, part of the point. ‘Saccharine’ leans into eye-popping, and in some moments eye-twisting, ick. It’s often impressive, occasionally playful, and it doesn’t stop to ask if you’re ready.
By the time Hana starts returning to bad cycles, the repetition starts to feel like a trap tightening. Montage after montage shows her bingeing. training. making her own pills. lusting after Alanya. and avoiding the obvious pain tied to her childhood home. The film’s central fear becomes literal: Hana is not in control of her body—perhaps she never has been—and that loss of control keeps getting framed in increasingly dehumanizing ways.
For all the film’s ambition, James doesn’t always deliver the emotional precision to match the body-horror spectacle. The ideas are big, and the visuals are strong, but the movie’s “full meal” approach sometimes tips into being overstuffed—haunting, yes, but not always in the intended ways.
Midori Francis, though, is a major reason to stick with ‘Saccharine.’ The performances land even when the story feels overloaded, and Hana’s fixation—her hunger, her secrecy, her spiraling belief that freedom might be one pill away—stays with you.
The film received a B- grade. ‘Saccharine’ premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, and it will reach select theaters later this year via Shudder.
Saccharine Natalie Erika James Shudder Sundance Film Festival 2026 Midori Francis body horror film review body image eating disorders wellness social media Big Bertha Danielle Macdonald Madeleine Madden Apartment 7A Relic select theaters May 22