Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.
Pam says:
Horror generally isn’t my cup of tea, but when a film combines intelligence with socially relevant themes, I’m all in — and Saccharine is exactly that kind of movie.
Starring Midori Francis as Hana, a first-year med student struggling through the pressures of school, including dissecting a cadaver, Hana has clearly battled body-image issues for years. She meticulously tracks her workouts, food intake, and weight, only to find she still can’t lose weight.
Then she reconnects with an old classmate who has dramatically slimmed down thanks to a mysterious black-market drug called “The Grey.” (At this point, I’m thinking GLP-1s.) Hana is tempted to try a few pills and immediately begins seeing results. But being both a scientist and a med student, she investigates the drug’s chemical makeup and uncovers something horrifying: the pills contain human ashes. Taking matters into her own hands, Hana begins making her own supply only to discover there’s a terrifying price to pay.
This film is gruesome at times (eating donuts has never looked so disturbing), deeply creepy, and relentlessly unsettling, but every shocking moment serves the story. Beneath the horror is a sharp commentary on society’s decades-long obsession with thinness and body image. The film constantly pushes you to ask yourself: what price would you pay to be skinny?
Writer-director Natalie Erika James handles the material with impressive control, layering in surprising twists, psychological tension, and even shades of The Picture of Dorian Gray. And Midori Francis is excellent as Hana, grounding an increasingly bizarre premise in genuine emotional reality. Hana’s struggles feel intellectual, emotional, and deeply personal, particularly in the glimpses we get of her relationship with her parents.
Even though I had some issues with the final scene, this is the kind of horror film that seeps into your psyche. Trust me, it’s going to haunt you long after the credits roll.
