Filmed in Melbourne, the Stan Original Saccharine with Midori Francis (Grey’s Anatomy) and Australian actors Danielle Macdonald (The Tourist) and Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time) will premiere August 13 on Stan. Saccharine follows Hana (Francis), a lovelorn medical student who becomes terrorised by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes.

Following the global success of Apartment 7A (a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby), and the breakout horror hit Relic, writer and director Natalie Erika James has confirmed her place as a distinctive new voice in cinema. James again partners with Carver Films’ Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw (producers of Run Rabbit Run, Relic, Snowtown), for psychological horror Saccharine.

First-year medical student Hana becomes fixated on losing weight after seeing the dramatic physical transformation of a friend taking a controversial new diet pill made from human ashes. Unable to afford the pills herself, Hana resorts to stealing bones from the cadaver she dissects in her anatomy class. As the weight falls away, she finds herself haunted by the restless ghost of the woman she is consuming. As the entity begins to overpower her, Hana must find a way to break free from it before losing control entirely.

The Stan Originals Saccharine is a Carver Films and Thrum Films Production. Major production investment from Screen Australia, XYZ Films in conjunction with IPR.VC, and produced with the assistance of VicScreen, in association with The Post Lounge. Written, directed and produced by Natalie Erika James. Produced by Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw. Co-produced by Ben Morgan. Stan Executive Producers are Cailah Scobie and Alicia Brown.

Following its world premiere in Sundance earlier this year, Saccharine recently premiered at the Sydney Film Festival, and is distributed theatrically in Australia and New Zealand by Maslow Entertainment. XYZ Films is handling world sales.

Stream the Stan Original Saccharine from August 13 on Stan.

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