Rouge

A gothic fairy tale with a horror twist, written by the highly renowned author of Bunny, follows a lone dress shop worker who embarks on a perilous journey to pursue youth and beauty after her mother passes away unexpectedly. Is it possible for her to avoid her mother's fate and establish a deeper relationship?

Belle has had a sneaking obsession with her skin and skincare videos for as long as she can remember. Belle returns to Southern California to deal with her mother's significant debts and unanswered mysteries regarding her death when her estranged mother Noelle passes away inexplicably. The tension builds as an enigmatic video about a life-changing spa treatment surfaces, and a strange woman dressed in red shows up at the burial. She gives a tantalizing hint about her mother's passing. Belle is enticed into the savage embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same opulent, cult spa that her mother was dedicated to, with the aid of a pair of red shoes. There, Belle uncovers the horrifying mystery surrounding the mirror fascination that both her and her mother share, as well as the vast shimmering depths and evil that lie beyond the glass.

In this bizarre journey into the dark side of beauty, envy, loss, and the complex bond between mothers and daughters, Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut. Rouge examines the cult-like nature of the beauty industry and the peril of internalizing its merciless gaze with a mix of dark humor and alluring horror. Rouge is a distorted reflection of our relationship with mortality, our communal obsession with the surface, and the wonderful, profound longing that can be hidden beneath. It is brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals.