By KEVIN HOOVER
More than two decades ago, the New French Extremity era of genre cinema made its presence known by pairing beautiful, idyllic backdrops—places that made you wish you were there—with acts of such depravity that you couldn’t imagine anyone would ever want to be. It’s a whole vibe that decorated pop-culture journalist Madeline Blondeau embraces in her debut novel, PENITENTS (Ghoulish Books), and if the cover is any indication of the atrocities inside, fans of films like Martyrs and High Tension have fresh blood to whet their appetites.
Blondeau’s work is slated for release on August 11th, and RUE MORGUE has an exclusive first look at the cover.
PENITENTS cover designed by Evangeline Gallagher
The book’s synopsis reads:
Madeline Blondeau’s PENITENTS, a debut trans tribute to New French Extreme cinema and ’70s grindhouse horror set on the rain-slicked coast of the Pacific Northwest, in which a writer runs afoul of a local violent family while attempting to take some space from her partners, set against a backdrop of desperate hook-ups and polyamorous infidelity, this roaring revenge romp spans the course of one blood-soaked weekend around Astoria, Oregon.
“At its heart, PENITENTS is about the walls we put up between each other, and the violent ways in which they are enforced,” says Blondeau, whose work has appeared on The AV Club and TheGamer, amongst other outlets. “It’s one part gory survival thriller, one part allegory on my hope for a better future—for the most wounded among us. Inspired by classic revenge narratives like I Spit on Your Grave and social horror like Frontier(s), I channeled frustrations, fears and dreams into a non-stop roller coaster with lots of blood and sex.”
PENITENTS is currently available for pre-order through Ghoulish Books.
