Nathan Hertz’s Debut Feature ‘Thinestra’ Tackles Body Image With Horror And Dark Humor

Valerie Complex
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Filming is underway in Los Angeles at Stay Lucky Studios for horror-comedy Thinestra, starring twin sisters Melissa Macedo (Girlboss) and Michelle Macedo (Every Time I Die). Directed by Nathan Hertz in their feature directorial debut, and written by Avra Fox-Lerner, the cast also features Brian Huskey (Veep) Shannon Dang (Kung Fu), Gavin Stenhouse (Kung Fu) and comedian Mary Beth Barone.

Thinestra takes place during a Christmas heat wave in Los Angeles. The story follows Penny, who, unhappy with her full-bodied physique, is on a restrictive diet, brutal workout regimen, & overall wellness binge. One day, at the photo studio where Penny works as a retoucher, an austere model gives Penny a baggie of sketchy diet pills. Soon after, following an awkward Christmas party, Penny loses her conviction & stuffs herself with cookies.

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Devastated by her mistake she resorts to taking the strange weight loss drug labeled ‘Thinestra’. That night, Penny starts to rapidly shed fat from her body. It’s gruesome, painful, & she eventually collapses in bed. While she sleeps… from the toilet in her bathroom… her alter-ego is born: Penelope. Penelope is the physical manifestation of a binge state: like the she-wolf in Dante’s Inferno — an unimaginable insatiable hunger consumes her (Penelope is the Hyde to Penny’s Jekyll).

As the story progresses, & a budding romance between Penny & her neighbor develops, Penelope gains increasing control over Penny – committing brutal murders & ingesting horrendous substances (including human flesh). Our view starts to oscillate between Penny’s dream state while Penelope is the master, Penelope’s brutal acts of violence, & a conscious Penny struggling for sanity in the blood-soaked aftermath of her doppelgänger. Then it’s Christmas morning!

“Just thinking domestically, attempt to quantify the collective shame surrounding food & disorganized eating,” said Hertz. “Extend your imagination out to those who, like so many of us, feel guilt & embarrassment about our bodies. Now imagine all those same people, experiencing a film that provides an opportunity to externalize those issues (a horror satire of course as no other genre would suffice). Imagine recoiling in horror, laughing, & staring into the glooping eyes of that painful lump we try to cover strategically behind our clothing, we try to kill with diet & exercise, & we try to medicate away with drugs like Ozempic. I’d take the Thinestra”

Thinestra is produced by Alexandra Lubenova’s Dogplayer & Kelly Parker’s Mary Ellen Moffat, alongside Hitmaker’s Media and Stay Lucky Studios. Hertz, Joe Wesley, and both Macedo sisters act as executive producers.

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