The next film from Relic and Apartment 7A director Natalie Erika James will be Saccharine, about a ghost and a woman who eats ash
When writer/director Natalie Erika James’ feature debut, the psychological horror drama Relic, was about to have its premiere, we heard that James was hoping to make a folk horror movie called Drum Wave, which would be about a pianist who goes to a remote island in Japan where she is forced to confront motherhood issues as the town holds its annual fertility festival. Drum Wave hasn’t made it into production yet, but James did direct the Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A in the meantime – and during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed that she’ll soon be heading into production on a psychological horror film called Saccharine!
During the interview, which was first posted four days ago, James said she would begin shooting her next movie in six weeks. When asked for more information on the upcoming project, she replied, “I’m doing another psychological horror, and this one’s called Saccharine. It’s about a woman who eats human ash to lose weight, and she becomes haunted by the ghost of the person she’s eating. So it has a bit of an absurd bent to it, but I’m very excited and we’re shooting here in Melbourne.” This sounds quite interesting and unique to me; I’ve never heard of another story about a person being haunted by someone whose ashes they consumed.
Inspired by James’ own experience when her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Relic told the following story: When octogenarian Edna inexplicably vanishes, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam rush to their family’s decaying country home and find clues of her increasing dementia scattered around the house in her absence. After Edna returns just as mysteriously as she disappeared, Kay’s concern that her mother seems unwilling or unable to say where she’s been clashes with Sam’s unabashed enthusiasm to have her grandma back. However, as Edna’s behavior turns increasingly volatile, both begin to sense that an insidious presence in the house might be taking control of her.
Her Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A has the following synopsis: When Terry Gionoffrio, a struggling, young dancer, suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple takes her into their home at a luxurious apartment building, the Bramford. Set in 1965 New York City, the film tells the story prior to the legendary horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, exploring what happened in the apartment before Rosemary moved in.
Does Natalie Erika James’ Saccharine sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on the next film from the director of Relic and Apartment 7A by leaving a comment below.
