Ohio Premiere
Showings
April 10, 2026
7:40 pm – 9:08 pm
Playhouse Square Campus
CSU Screening Room at the Idea Center (Floor 6)
April 11, 2026
9:45 pm – 11:13 pm
Cedar Lee Theatre
Cedar Lee 5
About This Film
Festival Year: 2026
Run Time: 88 Minutes
Film Type: Feature
Animated: No
Genre: Horror
Interests: Women-Centered Stories, First-Time Features
Countr(ies): USA
Language: English
English Subtitles: No
Captions: Closed
Film Overview
A miracle drug delivers the overnight weight loss you’ve always dreamed of. But will it turn you into a walking nightmare?
It’s a sweltering Christmas in LA. Penny—plagued by body dysmorphia and cycles of binge eating—impulsively takes Thinestra, a mysterious Ozempic-like drug. That night, she violently expels masses of fat in a painful and grotesque purge. But her discarded flesh returns…and like the Hyde to Penny’s Jekyll, PENELOPE is born. As her ravenous dopplegänger wreaks bloody havoc, Penny struggles to regain control. Can she overcome her hunger before it’s too late?
Programmer's Comment:
"Gooey, drippy, greasy. Am I describing a hallucinatory wall of donuts? Maybe, maybe not. A gory romp through wellness." – Kelly
Cast & Crew
Directed By
Nathan Hertz
Produced By
Alexandra Lubenova, Kelly Parker
Screenwriting
Nathan Hertz
Cinematographers
Joe Wesley
Editors
Joshua Raymond Lee, Sekun Mao, Aashish D’Mello
Principal Cast
Melissa Macedo, Michelle Macedo, Mary Beth Barone