Blink Twice Review: An Unexpectedly Cool Thriller From First-Time Director Zo? Kravitz

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I had no idea what to expect from Blink Twice heading into the theater. Much of the discourse surrounding Zo? Kravitz’s directorial debut had to do with the movie originally being called Pussy Island (she changed it after feedback from some women indicated they were offended) and that she met her beau Channing Tatum after sending him the script. The Blink Twice trailer shows audiences an island setting dripping with money and some violent delights. That would have been enough to sell me, but the movie is even more of a surprise.

Blink Twice

Release Date: August 23, 2024
Directed By: Zo? Kravitz
Written By: E.T. Feigenbaum and Zo? Kravitz
Starring: Naomie Ackie, Channing Tatum, Adria Arjona, Alia Shawkat, Geena Davis, Haley Joel Osment, Christian Slater
Rating: R for strong violent content, sexual assault, drug use and language throughout, and some sexual references
Runtime: 102 minutes

I expected Blink Twice to be a thriller with violence, blood and some over-the-top creepy moments, and it delivers on all that, but what I didn’t realize about the movie was how it would be chock full of leading lady energy. The word "badass" is often overused – and don’t worry, I’m not going to go full-blown girl power on anyone here - and Kravitz doesn’t either – but she does deftly explain how women with not much in common can rally together with one another to just get shit done. It's an extremely compelling tone, but it’s also fun! This movie is fun.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, we meet Jess (Alia Shawkat) and Frida (Naomie Ackie) as two women who are still floating through life in a way that was probably fine in their twenties but is decidedly less compelling in their thirties. Frida can’t decide who she wants to be in life, and Jess seems to waft in and out of bad relationship situations; they both work as caterers with limited incomes while they figure it out. One day, their catering experience sends them to an event hosted by billionaire Slater (Channing Tatum), who seems to know a lot of people.

Saving you the explanation of how Frida and Jess get from this Point A to a Point B where they are sharing a private island with a billionaire, their up-for-anything attitudes help. What follows is a fever dream of fine dining, pool days, drugs, chickens, shots, adventures, love, hate, lipgloss, night runs, snakes and ultimately a mysterious disappearance that helps the 102 minute runtime fly by.

Blink Twice is definitely a debut for director Zo? Kravitz, but that’s not a bad thing.

It’s not all picture perfect. As noted, Blink Twice is Zo? Kravitz’s directorial debut and some of the movie’s ideas and even specific shots might feel familiar to audiences. She’s not reinventing the wheel when it comes to modern filmmaking, and some might find the way the story unfolds to be a bit simplistic based on what we get in the trailer.

For some hoping to go into a straight horror film, a better comparison, to me, for Blink Twice would be the dark-but-funny Promising Young Women instead of 2023's Talk To Me. In noting the movie is fun, I'm talking more about the pace and the deft way Kravitz throws levity into startling situations. She keeps things off kilter and drips new information to the audience in a way that has us paying attention, even if the characters in the movie aren’t.

It’s also lushly shot and pretty to look at – as one would expect from an island populated by shiny, happy people who also happen to have access to billions of dollars.

Channing Tatum and Naomie Ackie are standouts in the Blink Twice cast.

There is some solid acting work being done in Blink Twice – including a surprise turn by Geena Davis. Two of my favorite former movie leads have now worked their way into character acting and I was pretty confident they’d bring something memorable: Mr. Robot’s Christian Slater and The Boys’ Haley Joel Osment. (Or, if you'd rather, Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves/True Romance's Slater and The Sixth Sense's Osment.) They’re off doing their own thing, which leaves space for Alia Shawkat and Adria Arjona to start chewing their way through scenes kind of out of nowhere starting in the middle of this movie.

But this is Channing Tatum and Naomie Ackie’s movie, and they don’t waste any blissful or messed up moments. They are savoring the scenes and sinking their teeth into them. I’m not sure they’d care if you care for their movie, as they simply seem there to have the best time with the material. It’s not a Hollywood best for Ackie, but this is Tatum getting a chance to do something different –(twice in one year if we’re counting that Gambit accent), and he largely succeeds at it.

We’ll Be Talking About The Movie’s Twists All Year Long

Without spoiling the ending, suffice to say nothing that happens in Blink Twice is exactly as it seems. Zo? Kravitz’s keen eye peppers in details throughout that possess special meaning in retrospect. It’s all cleverly done and leads to more than one twist that plays out before the final credits roll. The biggest of these surprises is more predictable, but some of the smaller things that begin to reveal themselves in the third act are what had me roped in the most.

Just to give you an idea of the vibe I was really feeling, when I walked out of the theater, I actually thought to myself, "This is my favorite movie so far this year." Is it ultimately the best movie I've seen so far this year? No, and I think that’s an important distinction – but no one who grabs some popcorn and gets their butts into a theater seat this month is going to be disappointed. Kravitz should be proud of this first directorial effort, and I’m so enthusiastic about whatever comes next. Following the tumult with the cancelation of High Fidelity, it's cool to see her come into her own in a way that gives her control and feels sustainable in the long term.

In short, Blink Twice ate. Go see it.