Independent Film Company and Shudder have acquired Saccharine ahead of its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

From writer-director Natalie Erika James (Relic, Apartment 7A), the supernatural body horror film will be released in North America and UK theaters before streaming on Shudder at some point in 2026.

The Australian production follows lovelorn medical student Hana, who becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.

Midori Francis (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$), and Madeleine Madden(“The Wheel of Time”) star.

James reunites with Relic producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw on the project.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with IFC and Shudder again after our experience releasing Relic together in 2020,” said James. “They’re an incredible team with a deep understanding of genre and a real commitment to filmmakers.”

“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,” added Emily Gotto, senior vice president of acquisitions and productions at Shudder. “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 produced by Carver Films and Thrum Films. It was financed by Screen Australia in conjunction with XYZ Films, IPR.VC, and Stan, in association with VicScreen.

Variety first reported on the acquisition.