Review: Saccharine – Ghouls just want to have fun
Directed by Natalie Erika James
Starring Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald, Madeleine Madden
6/10
When medical student Hana (Midori Francis) meets an old school friend, she marvels at the weight she’s lost and is consequently introduced to a new weight loss drug. After gaining results with the first dose, she analyses the contents of the diet pill to find a surprising ingredient—human ash. In desperation, she cremates part of the cadaver her group is dissecting to create her own supply. As she sheds the weight, she starts to experience hallucinatory side effects as she begins to see someone lurking behind her in a reflection, and it’s getting closer.
I’m not sure if this is Thinner with a little more body or Raw with a little less sauce. Either way, Saccharine falls just shy of greatness, but damn does it come close. At times it’s stunningly beautiful in its grotesqueness. Director Natalie Erika James (Relic) certainly has an eye for imagery and can effectively twist a slow burn into a living nightmare. It effectively handles its meager budget, getting the most out of its encounters.
The concept is interesting, and although kept a little vague in parts, the idea of a “hungry ghost” tied to weight loss certainly has potential. Similarly, the way Hana attacks a supernatural problem with a medical mindset is also a novel twist in line with the established character.
Where Saccharine does fall down is the failure to tie these great ideas to more solid themes. Yes, Hana’s body dysmorphia is driven by societal pressures, low self-esteem, and psychological issues arising from her childhood, but those factors just seem to be there as exposition rather than driving the narrative. It feels shallow, like a ticked list of themes, rather than something organically woven into the tale.
The ending definitely falls into this trap. Although visually foreshadowed numerous times, it prioritises magnificently grotesque imagery and shock value over other considerations. A fine endeavour in itself, but it actively plays against the only themes Saccharine has managed to establish. Certainly it’s a shock, albeit one you can see coming; it just spoils the more thematically satisfactory resolution the film has already accomplished.
That failure to solidly meld themes with narrative drags the pacing down. At an almost two-hour runtime, Saccharine’s slow pacing gives the characters ample time to breathe, but without that deeper thematic resonance, it drags. Even Midori Francis’ strong performance, James’ cinematic eye, or the often terrifying special effects aren’t enough to maintain audience interest. Saccharine exists in a space between jump scares and elevated horror and doesn’t make an entirely satisfying example of either.
In an era where Australian horror is punching above its weight, Saccharine lacks the bite of its stablemates. Still, it’s a solid work and part of a stable foundation of genre work being forged by its director.
DAVID O’CONNELL