Writer/director Natalie Erika James made her feature debut with the psychological horror drama Relic and followed that up with the Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A. Now, Deadline reports that filming is underway on James’ third feature, a psychological horror film called Saccharine, and Midori Francis of Grey’s Anatomy and The Sex Lives of College Girls has the lead role.
Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw are producing Saccharine, which is a Carver Films and Thrum Films production. Production investment came from Screen Australia, XYZ in conjunction with IPR.VC, and Stan, in association with VicScreen. Ben Morgan is a co-producer. Deadline notes that the film will be distributed theatrically in Australia and New Zealand by Maslow Entertainment and will launch as a Stan Original Film on Stan.
Francis is taking on the role of Hana, a lovelorn medical student who becomes terrorized by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes.
We first heard of this project a couple of months ago, when James told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m doing another psychological horror, and this one’s called Saccharine. It’s about a woman who eats human ash to lose weight, and she becomes haunted by the ghost of the person she’s eating. So it has a bit of an absurd bent to it, but I’m very excited and we’re shooting here in Melbourne.” Deadline confirms that filming is taking place at Docklands Studios Melbourne and various locations around Melbourne.
Francis is joined in the cast by Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$) as Josie, Hana’s best friend, and Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time) as Alanya, a personal trainer and fitness influencer.
James provided the following statement: “There is so much toxic messaging around weight and appearance that permeates every corner of our culture. Saccharine is an intimate look into one woman’s struggle with body image, self-worth, and shame-driven compulsion, told through a supernatural body-horror with a queer lens and an edge of the absurd.” The producers added, “Saccharine explodes off the page with Natalie’s bold vision. To team with her again is such a sweet pleasure for us. We can’t wait to see Midori, Danielle and Madeleine bring these incredible women to life.“
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