A woman eats human ashes to lose weight. Then things get weird.

That’s the setup for “Saccharine,” the latest from Natalie Erika James, the filmmaker behind “Relic” and “Apartment 7A.” It follows Hana (Midori Francis), a medical student desperate enough to try an obscure weight loss trend, only to find herself terrorized by something far worse than the scale.

James uses supernatural horror to dig into the toxic messaging around body image that saturates everything from casual conversation to Instagram feeds. It’s body horror with a queer perspective, tracking one woman’s spiral through shame, self-worth, and compulsion.

The film stars Francis alongside Danielle Macdonald and Madeleine Madden. Early reviews call it “sharply menacing” (The Wrap) and praise its take on “the destruction we inflict on ourselves and others” under the banner of self-improvement.

James made waves with “Relic” at Sundance 2020, earning a Gotham nomination and multiple AACTA nods. Her latest continues that momentum, made in partnership with Carver Films, XYZ Films, and Screen Australia.

“Saccharine” hits select theaters May 22. For indie horror fans watching how the genre tackles modern anxieties, this one’s worth catching.

A jilted girlfriend hacks MI6, burns it to the ground, and finds herself a getaway car that doubles as a weapon of mass destruction.

That’s the setup for Yumi: 00EX, a new four-issue series from Image Comics hitting shelves this August. Writer Doug Wagner (Plastic, Narco) teams up with artist Hoyt Silva for what sounds like Kingsman meets Fast and Furious with a K-Pop twist.

The story follows Yumi, whose MI6 boyfriend vanishes without a trace. Instead of waiting around, she storms the agency, hacks their systems, takes out their operatives, and torches everything in sight. Her only ally? A fully AI Lamborghini that’s more weapon than vehicle.

“Part The Kingsman, part K-Pop Demon Hunters, all attitude,” Wagner told Popverse. “We even tossed in an AI Lamborghini sidekick that’s built like a WMD, because with Hoyt and I involved, subtlety never really had a chance.”

The series launches August 12 with four variant covers, including work from Mirka Andolfo (Sweet Paprika) and Nicoletta Baldari. Digital versions drop the same day on Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Wagner’s built a reputation for wild, violent stories that don’t pull punches. This one looks like more of the same, just with better cars.

A family gets hacked out of their life savings and decides to take matters into their own hands. That’s the setup for “Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma,” a new horror comedy starring Chandler Riggs as Florida’s most wanted cybercriminal.

The film is based on what actually happened to director Shane Brady and producer Emily Zercher. When the Rumble family loses everything to a hacker known as “The Chameleon,” the bank can’t help and the cops are useless. So they plot their own takedown.

“I make films to turn pain, chaos, and frustration into something communal, funny, and wildly entertaining,” Brady said.

Riggs, best known for “The Walking Dead,” plays the elusive hacker. Fellow TWD alum Katelyn Nacon also stars, along with Richard Riehle (“Office Space”) and, oddly enough, NHL legend Phil Esposito.

The cast went all in. Owen Atlas got to showcase MMA skills in a fight scene with Riggs. “He was such a good sport about the whole thing,” Atlas said.

Scatena & Rosner Films is handling the North American release. Limited theatrical run hits this May, with VOD following June 2.

The film already won Best Comedy at Dunedin International Film Festival and Best Focus on Florida Feature at Gasparilla. For indie filmmakers turning personal disasters into dark comedies, this one’s proof that revenge really can be art.

Cameron Whitcomb is stepping up. The 22-year-old singer-songwriter just announced The Kingdom of Fear Tour, his largest US headline run to date, kicking off September 24 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and wrapping October 31 at Houston’s House of Blues.

The tour hits some serious rooms. Atlanta’s Tabernacle, Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom, Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, LA’s Wiltern, and Austin’s Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater are all on the itinerary. Presales start Tuesday, May 12, with general on-sale Friday, May 15. A dollar from every ticket goes to Project Healthy Minds.

This comes on the heels of Whitcomb’s new EP Deep Water, out now via Atlantic Outpost. The title track’s explosive single “Kingdom of Fear” is his highest-charting song to date in the US, Australia, UK, and Canada. He’ll perform it live on the American Idol finale May 11.

Whitcomb’s already deep into a relentless tour schedule. He’s wrapping sold-out shows across Australia and New Zealand, just finished packed rooms in Boston and New York on his Fragile Egos Tour, and he’s still supporting HARDY through the summer. Earlier this year, he took home two JUNO Awards, including Breakthrough Artist.

The BC native left home at 17 to work on a pipeline before finding music. Now he’s got 7.5 million monthly Spotify listeners and over 835 million global streams. Not bad for a kid who’s barely old enough to rent a car.

The Lighthouse International Film Festival just announced its 2026 documentary lineup, and it’s stacked with world premieres, Sundance picks, and stories you won’t find anywhere else.

The fest runs June 10-14 on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. This year’s doc competition includes 10 films spanning wildlife conservation, deep sea diving, indie horror families, and vigilante justice.

Two world premieres anchor the slate. Celluloid W-W-Wars follows stuttering director Allan Holzman’s wild ride through Hollywood, from working with Roger Corman to winning two Emmys. Our Colors Never Fade tracks LGBTQIA+ Ukrainians who left their lives behind to fight Russia’s invasion.

The headliner section features Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Superhero, about Seattle’s actual caped crusader who pepper-sprayed criminals until his identity got blown.

Other highlights include Seized, a Sundance doc about a police raid on a Kansas newspaper that turned into a constitutional nightmare, and My NDA, which follows three people who broke their silence agreements to expose rape and discrimination.

The fest previously announced special guests Jason Alexander and Tony Shalhoub, plus a revival screening of Big Night. Known for its beach-centric vibe, Lighthouse has been named one of MovieMaker’s “25 Coolest Film Festivals” twice.

For doc makers looking to break through, this lineup proves regional fests are programming just as bold as the majors.

Niall Horan is taking his new album on the road, and he’s starting big. The Irish singer just announced Dinner Party Live On Tour, a 26-date North American run produced by Live Nation that kicks off March 17, 2027 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Yes, St. Patrick’s Day.

The tour supports his fourth studio album, Dinner Party, dropping June 5 via Capitol Records. Stops include Brooklyn’s Barclays Center (April 4) and The Kia Forum in Los Angeles (May 22) before wrapping in Vancouver on May 29.

Tickets hit general sale Friday, May 15 at 10 AM local time on livenation.com. Citi cardmembers get early access starting today, and an artist presale opens Wednesday. VIP packages include access to a pre-show Dinner Party lounge, premium tickets, and early venue entry.

Horan’s summer is packed. He’ll play Rockefeller Center’s plaza in New York on June 12 as part of the TODAY show’s Citi Concert Series, then co-headline stadium shows with Thomas Rhett in Nashville and Hershey, Pennsylvania. The UK/EU leg starts September 22 in Birmingham.

His 2024 world tour sold over 1.2 million tickets. This time around, he’s leaning into the album’s themes of life, love, and the magic of gathering around a table. For an artist who’s sold 90 million records worldwide since his One Direction days, Horan keeps finding new ways to connect.

A 25-year-old trans-butch indie film is getting a second life. “By Hook or By Crook,” the groundbreaking 2001 debut from filmmakers Silas Howard and Harry Dodge, hits theaters next month in a newly restored 4K version.

The film follows Shy and Valentine, two gender-bending grifters navigating life on society’s margins. It was one of the first successful queer indie films shot on Mini-DV, and it made waves when audiences first saw it at Frameline and Sundance in the early 2000s.

Altered Innocence, the distributor behind “The People’s Joker,” is handling the release. The film opens in New York on June 12 and Los Angeles on June 16, then expands to Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Austin, and more cities throughout the summer.

The restoration comes courtesy of the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive, with support from Frameline, Outfest, and Sundance Institute. The Guardian called it “one of the best queer films of this century,” and Queerty says it “still feels just as fresh and original today.”

Howard went on to become the first openly trans masculine filmmaker to direct a studio film, helming projects like “Transparent” and “Pose.” Dodge is now a Guggenheim fellow and published author. Producer Steak House earned Emmy nominations for “Queer for Fear.”

For indie creators working on the margins, this one’s a reminder that scrappy, authentic work can endure.

The Grammy Awards are getting a new home. For the first time in over 50 years, the ceremony will air on ABC when it returns Feb. 7, 2027. Even bigger? It’ll simulcast on Disney+ and Hulu at the same time, marking the first streaming simulcast in Grammy history.

The news came during Disney’s upfront presentation in New York. The last time the Grammys aired on ABC was 1972, making this a pretty massive shift for music’s biggest night.

“This is an exciting time for us as an organization, a new home and a bold new chapter for the Grammy Awards,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.

The 2027 ceremony will broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Eligibility runs from Aug. 31, 2025 through Aug. 28, 2026, with nominations dropping Nov. 16, 2026. First round voting kicks off in October, and final voting wraps Jan. 7, 2027.

For indie artists grinding toward recognition, the move to streaming could mean broader access and a younger audience. For the Grammys, it’s a bet that the future of awards shows lives beyond traditional TV.