Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Saccharine

Play trailer 1:41 Poster for Saccharine R Now Playing 1h 53m Horror Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
69% Tomatometer 62 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes.

Where to Watch

Saccharine

Saccharine

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Tapping into anxieties latent in an era of weight loss drugs, Saccharine's insights into nuanced themes come with a lot of empty calories but its gross-out scares sure do hit the spot.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle 5d
2/5
It’s like Jillian Michaels directing an adaptation of Stephen King’s Thinner, and even some good scares can’t disguise the bitter taste it might leave in your mouth. Go to Full Review
Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News 5d
3/4
Saccharine does suffer from some scenes feeling repetitive. All in all, though, it’s another flat-out win for a horror filmmaker interested in going beyond gore to uncover what haunts our human souls. Go to Full Review
Tomris Laffly RogerEbert.com May 22
3/4
It proves that in a great horror movie, fear and helplessness work hand in hand. And James is expertly in control of it all. Go to Full Review
Sarah Vincent Sarah G Vincent Views 1d
"Saccharine" feels like a mashup of "Raw" (2016), "Flatliners" (1990), "Thinner" (1996) meets "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" or some mad scientist storyline Go to Full Review
Aaron Neuwirth We Live Entertainment 3d
7/10
Director Natalie Erika James, who delivered the well-acted and similarly creepy debut with Relic, returns to a smaller-scale feature here with a committed lead in the form of Midori Francis. Go to Full Review
Tiffany McLaughlin Pop Culture Leftovers 4d
Saccharine attempts to comment on so many different social stigmas that nothing really sticks to the wall. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Vincent R 2d A very interesting premise albeit confusing and disturbing at times. It's a difficult watch for people who struggle with obesity and weight issues as it really forces you to look at society's portrayal of how obese people are treated in the modern age. Also very interesting to see how taking diet pills and strange ingredients for the sake of lust. See more jesse v 4d a body horror movie about ozempic and gluttony. you could say it's thematically adjacent to Slanted, but replaces the colorful comedy with the mood from The Plague. There isn't much subgenre here that balances the psychological body horror theme m. I wished the parents were more involved than just a quick cameo and the main character actually does something else than eat. The lesbian relationship storyline was completely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. I'm only giving props for the acting and cinematography and prop work. See more Jamie 5d Damn good if you ask me. I’d give it a solid B to B+. Have nothing bad to say about it. See more Tom B 6d Crude & disgusting. Difficult to watch. See more Marlon 6d Boring and not scary at all See more metalliphil May 23 Interesting take on eating disorders and body self image w solid effects - I appreciate that the film did not play it safe and explored less conventional routes in the story and the ending See more Read all reviews
Saccharine

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Movie Info

Synopsis Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes.
Director
Natalie Erika James
Producer
Natalie Erika James, Anna McLeish, Sarah Shaw
Screenwriter
Natalie Erika James
Distributor
Independent Film Company
Production Co
Carver Films
Rating
R (Sexuality|Grisly Images|Disturbing Content|Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Language)
Genre
Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 22, 2026, Limited
Runtime
1h 53m