Who amongst us hasn’t dreamed of being whisked away from our humdrum lives to an unique island, populated by lovely folks and plush with luxurious? That is the dream come true for Blink Twice‘s heroine, a cater waiter named Frida (I Wanna Dance With Anyone‘s Naomi Ackie), when dashing tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) affords her a personal airplane experience to his equally non-public island. However on this place of poshness and privilege, one thing heinous hides in plain sight.
For her directorial debut, actress turned co-writer/helmer Zoë Kravitz brings in a star-studded solid that features Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Adria Arjona, Simon Rex, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Kyle MacLachlan. Collectively, they ship a gnarly thriller about energy, betrayal, and need that is positive to depart audiences rattled, but sporting a crooked grin.
Blink Twice is diabolically solid.
Credit score: Amazon MGM Studios
Even from the trailer, feminine viewers would possibly elevate an eyebrow at Frida’s resolution to fly off with no discover to Slater’s non-public island, the place she swiftly surrenders her telephone to his fiercely chipper assistant (Davis). However the script by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum builds in unstated assurances: Frida’s bestie Jess (Shawkat) is coming alongside, for starters. Plus, there are different girls who will there, like astrology-loving app developer Camilla (Liz Caribel), chess-savvy pothead Heather (Trew Mullen), and Survivor Babes actuality TV star Sarah (Arjona). But it isn’t simply that the presence of different girls makes Frida really feel protected about following a billionaire to a second (and distant!) location. These girls have an enviable confidence and fun-loving vibe that’s intoxicating — even earlier than the get together medicine are provided.
So, when issues go from elegant to surreal, it is laborious to level the finger and proclaim undeniably that we might know higher. Plus, who might resist the attract of those males? Kravitz casts Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, and Haley Joel Osment — an array of actors who’ve been celeb crushes, intercourse symbols, and dreamboats. It is easy to think about saying sure to this fantasy of fame, fortune, and wealthy, scorching, and well-known males. Nonetheless, Kravitz’s feminine characters are self-aware sufficient to second-guess their decisions as the flamboyant and enjoyable facade of the island begins to crack.
When Jess goes lacking, Frida is mortified to comprehend that nobody else appears to recollect her being there in any respect. However who might overlook that freckled spitfire, the form of pal who all the time has a lighter whenever you want one? As Frida grows suspicious, her investigation will lead her into stunning alliances, darkish conspiracies, and heart-wrenching revelations.
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Kravitz neatly provides her thriller house to breathe.
Credit score: Amazon MGM Studios
The premise of a personal island that is not really paradise would possibly sound cliched, however Kravitz and Feigenbaum give their story time to develop and envelop. A grubby rest room scene in Frida and Jess’s house swiftly establishes their shared intimacy and humble circumstances. The gala, the place they strategically swap their cater-waiter uniforms for slinking cocktail attire to sneak in among the many prosperous company, is explored from the crowded kitchens to the swanky ballroom. Nevertheless, it is on the island itself the place Kravitz properly takes her time, growing the heady routine of pleasure-chasing, which includes an countless provide of medicine, booze, delicacies, and shiny, white apparel for each event.
Positive, Jess will joke that the feminine company all being supplied the identical white bathing fits, the identical white dinner attire, and the identical equipment appears “cultish.” However it’s a element straightforward to overlook within the haze of pot smoke and budding romance. Frida’s eager to spend each second she will be able to with Slater, and Tatum is a grasp of enjoying the romantic lead. His heat smile, concentrated stare, and delicate, husky voice is a easy seduction. And all this sultriness and sumptuousness invitations us to dwell vicariously by means of Frida, with Ackie’s huge eyes and enchanted smile reflecting our personal. This cozy setup makes the jagged punctures of this dream world hit all of the more durable, since you would possibly even overlook you are not watching a romance however a thriller.
Kravitz crafts a crackling and satisfying thriller.
Credit score: Amazon MGM Studios
I need not share spoilers to have fun Blink Twice‘s second half. Merely put, Ackie handles the flip from besotted to terrified with a visceral aplomb. Tatum makes a surprisingly sensational villain, whereas the remainder of the supporting solid bursts with power, whether or not enjoying malicious or manic. Christian Slater specifically appears to relish the prospect to sink his tooth into Kravitz’s juicy revelations, virtually spitting by means of an unnerving smile.
Elsewhere, Rex (who earned vital approval for 2021’s Purple Rocket) and Haley Joel Osment are glad to play a pair of fools, whereas Caribel and Mullen dazzle with brat summer season appeal. Arjona proves a standout although, shifting from Frida’s romantic rival to one thing far much less archetypal and much more complicated — and even surprisingly humorous.
Maybe the best shock of Blink Twice is simply how slyly humorous it’s. The fabric will get darkish, however Kravitz and her solid lace in an absurdity that retains us on the fringe of our seats, as an alternative of buried behind our palms. The defiant comedy amid the horror right here urges us to maintain hope alive, even when issues look bleak, very like Radio Silence’s 2019 hit Prepared or Not. That movie seems like an affect right here, by way of some plot and aesthetic particulars, and these similarities — in addition to visible nods to motion pictures like I Spit on Your Grave — may need some viewers snarking that Blink Twice is by-product. However Kravitz makes use of acquainted items to construct her basis, then crafts a freshly exhilarating journey that feels of its time. Fairly than an imitator of those motion pictures, it feels a kindred spirit, utilizing its screams to ship a message that’s achingly timeless.
Which is all to say, Blink Twice is a knockout.
Blink Twice opens in theaters Aug. 23.
