Connect with us

News

Out Today: The Vines by, Christopher Rice

Published

on

Spring House, a beautiful and storied plantation, sits in the quiet, lush flora of southern Louisiana.  Caitlin Chaisson, heiress and current owner of the big old house, creeps upstairs as the guests of her birthday party file out into the darkness of night.  At the top of the stairs, through the slightly opened bathroom door, she spies her husband in the arms of another woman.  He is tearing at her clothes, his mouth on her earlobe.  Caitlin slowly backs down the stairs before sprinting out of the back of the house, grabbing and breaking a champagne flute as she heads for the gazebo.  She slices at her skin, and as blood falls to the floor and seeps beneath onto the ground, an ancient evil rises that has slumbered in the soil since a slave woman named Virginie Lacroix unleashed hell on the slave owner and overseer who had broken their vows to her and her people.

This is only the beginning of the journey we take with author Christopher Rice in his new novel, The Vines, released today.  What follows is a novel about revenge and the myriad ways we are changed by it.  Rice has proven time and again that he is a masterful storyteller and this latest work is no different.  Indeed, when I first settled in to read The Vines, it was about 11pm at night and I thought I’d read for an hour before heading to bed.  At 3 in the morning, I was finishing the novel as emotionally exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions I felt while reading as I was physically from staying up well passed my bedtime.

You see, reading a Christopher Rice novel is deceptive because the characters are so multi-faceted.  In The Vines, you think you know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are from the beginning.  Viriginie Lacroix and her connection to Caitlin via their need for revenge on those who have harmed them quickly plant the seeds of sympathy in our minds.  It doesn’t take long for Caitlin to begin making decisions that force us to question that sympathy.  She has certainly been a victim, but does making victims of others right the wrongs against her?  Certainly she was mistreated by those around her, but she was no slave in a place and time without options for redressing those wrongs.

On the other hand, Caitlin’s gay former best friend Blake, who we discover was the victim of a violent hate crime in his teens, would seem like the one to take the violent action to seek vengeance on those who caused the death of his very first love.  Instead, we find him examining the situation and the people involved and making different decisions.  This may seem a bit vague, but I really don’t want to give too much away.  I hate spoilers, and this is a novel that must be experienced without too many preconceptions, but at every turn of the page I was asking myself, “Would I be capable of this?  Could I commit these acts even if I thought, deep down, that they were deserved?”.

I will tell you this, some of the scenes in this book brought on such a visceral response in me.  Mr. Rice’s horror spawns from nature and natural places and the titular vines come to serpentine life that makes the flesh crawl, especially if you’re as phobic of snakes as I am.  Insects take on a sinister quality in swarms of roaring, winged vengeance.  And the very earth shifts and changes under the feet of the characters as these horrors come to life.  It is a thrill ride from start to finish.  The ending is ambiguous enough to leave you not only wondering when the next volume will be released but also anxiously anticipating it.  If you’ve never read any of his work before, this would be a perfect introduction to Christopher Rice

If I had one complaint about the novel, it was that I found I wanted more as I read, especially about the slave woman’s story.  One gets the feeling there is much more that Virginie has to say and I can’t help feel that the story would have taken on even more depth with a longer visit to this character’s time and circumstances.  I can only hope that Mr. Rice will come back to this character in the future and give us more of her story.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Vines today.  It’s available in trade paperback at major booksellers and on Amazon.com for direct download to your Kindle and other devices with the Kindle App.

A final word, I am excited to announce that about a month ago, Mr. Rice agreed to an interview with me for iHorror.com.  It was a great pleasure working with him on this interview and it’s a great opportunity for you to hear, in his own words, some of Christopher’s own thoughts about horror, writing and his fantastic characters.  Make sure to check back here on Thursday for the full interview!

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading