Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat), are cocktail waitresses, yearning for a better life. Frida creates a chance meeting with tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) at his fundraising gala. He invites them both along with a few of his friends on a dream vacation to his private island. Care free eating, drinking, and drug induced partying makes for a seemingly great trip for all. But something is off and the answer to, “Are you having a good time?” might be a bit more complicated.
BLINK TWICE is the directorial debut of actress Zoë Kravitz who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum. BLINK TWICE is a psychological thriller and a super dark comedy/horror. Does it achieve these genres effectively? Yes and No. The idea is thrilling and mostly original, but I’m not sure the execution fully hits even if it does have some genuinely fun moments.
Clearly influenced from Jordan Peele’s 2017 masterpiece GET OUT, BLINK TWICE is less horror, but definitely horrific. The initial setup and cast of characters are intriguing. The likes of Christian Slater, Geena Davis, Simon Rex, Levon Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, and Haley Joel Osment all show up in some wild supporting roles. It’s nice to have connections to get a little star power nepo-juice.
BLINK TWICE works well in the not knowing exactly where it’s going type of film and I will do my best to honor that premise. I went into the film knowing nothing, which definitely made my experience more enjoyable, if not unsettling. However I would hate for anyone to go into this thinking that it is something different who does not want a disturbing R-rating. So be warned.
With that out of the way, as things keep ticking, you kind of get an idea that it’s not good on this lonely island. I think the downfall of the film happens in the second act between the set up and the finale. Despite how great our lead performances and chemistry is from Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum, along with the comedic Alia Shawkat and intimidatingly strong Adria Arjona, the days of partying drags on a bit too much. The redundancy is intended to build on the mystery and overall strange vibe, but when the audience is already clued in to – “It’s time to leave!” let’s get to the next step.
Kravitz has crafted a great looking picture with her fiance Channing Tatum as her muse. Tatum is really having fun proving his star charisma ability, chewing up the scene when things get going. I appreciate the idea that Kravitz has put together in matching a thematic message into a crazy dark, funny, horror genre. But it also feels gimmicky in some of the shock. I liken it to another Christian Slater film, 1998’s VERY BAD THINGS or 2002’s controversial RULES OF ATTRACTIONS. Both films of which I did not like. BLINK TWICE is better than those films by having a bit more joy and humor and not as mean spirited. More importantly, BLINK TWICE has at least an attempt at better messaging in the gluttonous, undeserved power of white men added with the heroics of when women choose to unite rather than battle. It just took a while to get there.
