One of the most anticipated horror films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival already has a distributor. Shudder and Independent Film Company have announced that they’ve acquired Saccharine, the new body horror film from Relic director Natalie Erika James, which is set to premiere at this year’s festival in Park City.
“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 Shudder’s Emily Gotto. “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 James’ third film, after partnering with Shudder to release her debut film Relic, followed by the Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A, and stars Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald, and Madeleine Madden. The film follows Francis’s Hana, a lovelorn medical student who finds herself in deep trouble when she begins eating human ashes as a way to lose weight, only to find herself terrorized by a sinister force from beyond the grave.
“I'm absolutely thrilled to be working with Independent Film Company and Shudder again after our experience releasing RELIC together in 2020,” James said. “They're an incredible team with a deep understanding of genre and a real commitment to filmmakers.”
James writes, directs, and produces Saccharine, alongside producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw. The film joins an impressive lineup of projects coming to Shudder in 2026, a list that also includes the Adams Family’s Mother of Flies, Beast of War, Dolly, Forbidden Fruits, The Mortuary Assistant, and more.
No wide release date has been announced for Saccharine. Stay tuned to FANGORIA for more updates.
