Blink Twice Review: Modern Hitchcockian Thriller 

Blink Twice, Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, masterfully dissects the allure of the strange world of the rich in this nail-biting thriller. 

Blink Twice brings us into, and delicately deconstructs, the carefully curated image we associate with the extremely rich to show us the true horror that can lie in this picture-perfect world. Kravitz’s directorial debut is both skillful and entertaining, keeping audiences on the edge of their seat through this hilarious and nuanced psychological thriller. 

The film revolves around aspiring nail artist, but current cocktail waitress, Frida (Naomi Ackie, of I Wanna Dance With Somebody) who develops a fascination with elusive tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum, of Fly Me to the Moon). When given the chance to waitress at his company’s fundraising gala she convinces her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) to use their access to the event as staff to sneak in as attendees. After successfully sneaking into the gala, Frida comes face to face with Slater and sparks begin to fly. He introduces the two girls to his colorful array of friends from various backgrounds and walks of life which turns into a night of drinks, laughs and memories being made. 

Not wanting their time together to end, Slater invites the girls to join the group on a vacation to the private island he owns. When the girls arrive, anything they could want for is available without them even needing to ask: beautiful clothing, delicious food, neverending champagne and endless entertainment. The island presents itself as a utopia with beautiful days that melt into wild nights. As the days begin to blend into each other, Jess becomes wary of the island and sparks a sense of caution in Frida that eventually snowballs into complete paranoia. Frida notices she is waking up with dirt under her nails, bruises on her body and no memory of how she ended her nights.

One day she wakes up and realizes Jess is missing, but, even more strangely, she realizes there is no evidence Jess was ever on the island. Frida now knows there is something terribly wrong with this place and understands that, in order to survive, she must get to the bottom of what is going on. 

Blink Twice is a powerhouse of a directorial debut from Kravitz. She keeps the audience entertained through funny quips and the film’s beautiful cinematography but is also able to develop a truly intricate and suspenseful story that will have audiences on the edge of their seats trying to anticipate the film’s next twist. She understands storytelling elements like foreshadowing and tie-backs and employs them with a definitive purpose that makes her film feel not just well-rounded, but carefully calculated.

It’s clear through Kravitz’s directorial style this story was made by someone who loves cinema and understands its history on a nuanced level. With Blink Twice, Kravitz manages to create a referential story that is able to stand entirely on its own. From Frida’s Rosemary’s Baby inspired pixie cut to the color scheme that is in line with that of a Stanley Kubrick film, this movie feels like a homage to all the projects that have influenced Kravitz as a filmmaker. It is the type of movie film lovers can appreciate while not alienating an audience who may not understand the story’s Hitchcockian undertones. 

However, it’s not just the way the film was built that is worthy of praise; the story itself is what makes its appeal truly reach beyond the film lover’s community. At the center of Blink Twice is a story about power, societal redemption and the way we let the shine of celebrity status blind us from seeing definitive truths.  

From the beginning of the film, we know Slater is not a good man. Frida watches him in an interview give a vague apology for an unknown incident that has led to him being forced to step down as the leader of his company. The interview is set up to be intimate, with Slater and his interviewer sitting in a background that envelops him in white, perhaps forcing viewers to associate him with innocence or even generously giving him a visual clean slate. 

The background’s bareness also further extenuates how beautiful Slater is – so beautiful it distracts both Frida and the audience from what he is actually saying. We never get to learn what exactly he is apologizing for, but the film suggests that when he looks that good and seems that sincere does it even really matter what he’s done? 

Slater’s charm is effortless, making it easy for everyone to look past actions that would normally give one pause. He’s the type of person you want to be close to, in both a physical and emotional sense. Channing Tatum is the perfect casting for Slater King, he has the perfect mix of easy charisma and natural beauty to make you understand the exact type of man Slater is. 

His essence can be epitomized in the very first interaction he has with Frida. After she slips and falls at Slater’s company gala, landing on broken champagne glasses, Slater cooly walks over to offer her a hand to help her up. She is so taken by his charm that she doesn’t realize she is bleeding until a member of the wait staff hands her a napkin. 

Frida overlooks all the red flags and thorns of his past in favor of the idea that he is misunderstood and reformed from his bad days. She wants him to be better, so she decides that he is. Her relationship with him and her desperate attempts to make him into a better person than he has proven he is feel extraordinarily relevant in the climate of celebrity culture we live in today.

There is no one person that Slater is meant to represent because this type of forgiveness and coddled behavior is so normalized in modern-day media when attractive men are the subject of scrutiny. The women within the group admit they overlooked the absurdity of going to a billionaire’s secluded, private island because they were swept up in the allure of being a part of something normal people do not get to be a part of. However, notably, the film does not condemn them for going on this trip and instead makes the audience acknowledge that under the circumstances, any of us probably would have done the same. 

Blink Twice highlights our societal desperation towards wanting to understand the lives of the ultra-rich, and ultimately our desire to be a part of it. No matter how much we might make fun of the strange and absurd lives of celebrities, there is an inescapable allure to them. We want, against all logic and reason, to have a taste of what life could be like if all our monetary troubles were long gone and we were left with boredom and unlimited resources at our disposal to cure it. 

The film’s twist into a very dark and disgusting reality for its characters feels necessary to show audiences that oftentimes this boredom mixed with extreme power gives way to truly evil behavior. There is no getting that rich and having lives that look that glamorous without profiting off someone in a less advantaged situation than you. 

In terms of story, there are times when Kravitz’s vision becomes overly ambitious. Character development and plot progression often butt heads in a way that feels jarring for the viewers. The film has an extraordinary ensemble cast that feels wasted as many of them are never given their moment to shine but rather blend into an eclectic group for the main players to launch off of. Additionally, the pacing favors the concept of suspense but doesn’t do everything needed to actually build it through the story’s arch. The film is not perfect, but it distinguishes itself in both subject matter and execution within the world of psychological thrillers enough to make you eager to see what else Kravitz has up her sleeve.

Blink Twice is entertaining as hell. It takes the concept of a final girl, doubles it, and gives you an ending that will make you smile ear to ear. The film manages to feel incredibly relevant and timely while also not insisting upon itself in a way that feels cringeworthy. It has its flaws and there’s a level of suspended belief you need to have in order to take it for what it is, but if you can manage to look past the film’s small plot hole offenses, you will be left with a one-of-a-kind thriller.

Blink Twice was released globally in theaters on August 23, 2024.