Blink Twice 2024 Movie Review
The nifty thing about thriller and horror movies is that they can be released at any time of year. Never forget that Silence of the Lambs came out on Valentine’s Day, 1991 (a year before sweeping the Oscars), and The Sixth Sense became, at the time, one of the biggest films of all time after an August 1999 release. Blink Twice may seem like an unassuming little horror flick about some antics on an island that become more horrific as the days wear on, but it’s more than that. Even when noting that it’s also a social thriller, it feels like I’m shortchanging what it’s after. There are for sure significant motivations behind Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut stemming from gender disparity, white privilege, the “#MeToo” era, and more. However, I enjoyed how this movie embraces the idea of the audience attempting to be a step ahead by adding additional layers. There’s also plenty of scrappy spirit and sly dark comedy to make for an entertaining ride that doesn’t mind getting brutal.
Blink Twice opens with warning signs in the form of Channing Tatum’s Slater King. Slater is a tech billionaire first seen in a major interview addressing how he needed to disconnect from things, and he’s accomplished this by purchasing his own island. This sort of rich person nonsense would only lead to more questions, but the film makes it simple yet clever. We’re not dealing with an older man or someone who’s socially awkward. Instead, it’s a laid-back Channing Tatum. Is he up to no good, or is he just oblivious to actions taking place around him because his desires seem to only amount to getting high and having a good time while detached from the rest of the world?
We enter this film through Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress who gets Slater’s attention during an event and is invited to join him and his crew, along with Frida’s best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat), for an island getaway. Upon arrival, things are a bit odd, but Frida charges through. Clothes are provided for them. Specific meals and drinks are given out each day. The staff seem bizarrely out of step with everything (and many don’t speak English). And are some of the other guests more hostile toward Frida than others?
Again, I like that Blink Twice isn’t remotely trying to hide that something is clearly wrong with this setup. Not unlike Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, it would be weirder to enter the film thinking everything is on the level, only to be caught off guard by nefarious shenanigans. Without getting into what’s happening, it is worth noting this ensemble cast. Christian Slater, Simon Rex, and Haley Joel Osment are all some form of business associates happy to accept the lifestyle King has afforded them (and each of them oozes sleaze). Geena Davis shows up as King’s personal assistant. The men have also brought their own dates to the island. Most notable is Adria Arjona’s Sarah, a former reality show winner who has remained in peak physical condition, were she to have to accept any new challenges.
By comparison, Frida is no big deal. She has garnered affection from King, and while she doesn’t try to keep herself separated from the others, there’s a knowing discomfort. It’s imposter syndrome, but how does that balance against a free-range lifestyle on a tropical island with no limits? Well, that’s where Frida’s concerns lie, as she seems to be being tested by being one of the few Black women to have ever gotten this far with King. Her ability to draw his attention is at least curious to the others.
As a director, Kravitz does not rely on subtleties regarding the messaging on display. Still, there is a clear knack for playing moments big and small in terms of editing choices, visual inspirations, sound design, and more. Creating a sense of unease while still delivering an engaging and entertaining motion picture is not an easy task, yet here’s a film that wants to activate some core senses and keep the audience on their toes. On several occasions, Blink Twice plays up the suspense, the humor, the mystery, and even the horror violence to some degree, yet it does not feel jarring in the execution of these dramatic change-ups. A running gag involving Tatum’s insecurity revolving around the placement of a chair in his office pushes right up against one of the film’s tensest moments. Another sequence finds characters relitigating an experience with awful results.
Once all the cards are dealt and the film pushes towards a climax and the end results, there may be an inevitability to what may occur, but even then, I found the choices by writers Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum quite strong. Whether or not there’s a definitive understanding of all that took place, I believe the film knows what it’s after, and none of this took away from my appreciation of its thematic value. This is very much a film wrestling with power dynamics, culpability, and systemic aspects of a class-based society in frustrating and inspiring ways.
I found this movie quite gripping. It’s energetically made and doesn’t cop out when reasoning out what’s taking place and where to go with it. Compared to other films that rely on similar themes affixed to an exotic locale, I can appreciate that Blink Twice has the semblance of a feature that is aware of the logic it establishes and knows why everything happens the way it does. On top of all this, Ackie is a strong lead here, Tatum leans into aspects of his persona turned on their head quite well, and there’s plenty of solid support on display, too. Thrillers and horror movies may come around whenever a studio feels like it, but for a late-August release, I was having a really good time with this one.
