Blink Twice Review
Blink Twice (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Zoë Kravitz, written by E.T. Feigenbaum and Zoë Kravitz and starring Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Liz Caribel, Levon Hawke, Trew Mullen, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan, Cris Costa, Saul Williams, Tiffany Persons and Aaron Himelstein.
Zoë Kravitz’s surreal new thriller, Blink Twice, is exceptionally well made although it’s hard to figure out where, exactly, it’s headed. You won’t want to miss a beat as Kravitz keeps the action moving at a quick and steady pace. Kravitz (who also co-wrote the script) creates a strong leading female character in Frida (Naomi Ackie), a co*cktail waitress, who sneaks into a party for a billionaire named Slater King (Channing Tatum has never been better).
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Frida’s shoe breaks in an embarrassing scenario and Slater intervenes. He invites her and her good friend, Jess (the always reliable Alia Shawkat), to go with him and some random people to a private island. From there, the movie builds suspense in such a way that the twists and turns could give the viewer whiplash.
Frida and Jess seem to be living a fantasy. They jump on the opportunity to travel and, in the beginning, have a blast. Things get more complicated, though, when they’re asked to turn in their cell phones in order to have fun and well… let this movie be a warning, never do that! Not that the phones come in handy when they’re needed like in one scene where Frida finds her phone and it turns out to be -you guessed it- out of service.
All hell breaks loose in the movie. Frida and Jess party up a storm with the other people in the mix but, eventually, it becomes difficult to know who to trust. Jess is bitten by a snake but there’s no hospital in the vicinity to go to. Talk about a living nightmare come to life, Jess disappears, and Frida is told by another person involved, Sarah (a perfectly cast Adria Arjona), that Jess was never there to begin with! Sarah is a former reality show star who soon teams up with Frida to find out what’s really going on there on that island. Arjona doesn’t have a lot of juicy scenes, but she works tremendously well in the several ones she gets.
It’s humorous that Tatum’s character is named Slater and who else turns up in this movie? None other than the eccentric Christian Slater as a weirdo named Vic. Christian Slater’s casting here is nothing short of inspired and he adds a significant amount of curiosity factor to the movie for fans of the offbeat actor. Haley Joel Osment, former child actor from 1999’s The Sixth Sense, plays a guy who gets a penis drawn on his head in a hilarious moment. The last big role in the picture is played by Simon Rex who also shows off his dark side in a turn within the film. Geena Davis surprises in a brief supporting turn as a wackadoodle who seems to have an agenda of her own to potentially burn something up.
Tatum is the revelation here. We’re used to seeing him in more heroic roles and, here, he unveils a mysterious side which will keep viewers guessing from beginning to end. He plays a rich guy who takes a liking to Frida but is he genuinely interested in her or just playing a sinister game? Ackie more than holds her own beside him, adding much needed relatability to a premise where nothing is what it seems, and everything appears to have dire consequences. At one point, characters all drink what could be snake venom and it’s a little strong, to say the least. Alia Shawkat and Ackie have a great on-screen rapport that makes us believe they are friends, and the pair of actresses really get some scenes together that showcase their comic and dramatic talents with equally effective results.
Blink Twice isn’t perfect but it certainly holds the viewer’s interest thanks the mysterious nature of the plot which includes a maid from hell that will having viewers asking themselves, “What the heck is going on?” You know a movie is good when you’re unable to take your eyes off the screen because what’s going on is so fascinating. The movie goes off the rails with certain big plot developments and the ending is definitely too pat for the events that precede it, though. These flaws aside, Kravitz’s picture entertains and then some.
If Blink Twice is the mind trip of the summer, it’s not quite on the level of other key movies about vacations from hell such as Midsommar. Yet, Kravitz’s movie is very distinct, scary and handsomely mounted as well as full of bizarre scenarios that will have viewers scratching their heads in wonder, yet enjoying the plot reveals almost every step of the way. It is recommended.
Rating: 7/10
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