Blink Twice (15)

Frida and roommate Jess wait tables at an annual fundraising gala dinner hosted by charming billionaire Slater King. Following the dinner service, Frida catches Slater's eye and he whisks the roommates away to a private island with his entourage. The roommates embrace the psychedelic drug-fuelled hedonism but something is dreadfully off-kilter in paradise and guests will lose much more than access to their mobile phones.

LondonNet Film Review

Blink Twice (15) Film Review from LondonNet

Forgive or forget? Actress Zoe Kravitz’s bold directorial debut picks its poison and drinks it to discomfiting excess, spewing a ball of righteous rage at misogyny and egregious abuses of power through the lens of a twisted psychological thriller that will inevitably be anointed this year’s Get Out. Co-written by the actress and ET Feigenbaum, Blink Twice leans heavily into skin-prickling horror in a fraught second half that explores the devastating ripple effect of trauma in the aftermath of the MeToo reckoning. “Forgetting is a gift,” repeatedly claims Channing Tatum’s tech company demi-god. Kravitz’s fiance is cast effectively against type, weaponising his charm against co-star Naomi Ackie’s giddily starstruck waitress, who yearns to be seen in a world where social media elevates a person’s perceived worth (a viral video of Kravitz’s musician father exercising in the gym in leather trousers appears briefly)…

Forgetting is not an option with Blink Twice, which plays out gender warfare on multiple fronts such as older men scolding arrogant pretenders to their white privilege (“Sip it, the wine’s older than you!”) or women competing against each other for a wealthy man’s gaze. Kravitz relishes trippy close-ups (the film opens on the glistening scales of a sun-grazing lizard) and her distinctive visual style makes every narrative red flag, foolishly ignored by the characters, glisten like freshly spilt blood.

Frida (Ackie) and roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat) wait tables at an annual fundraising gala dinner hosted by charming billionaire Slater King (Tatum), who hopes the public display of philanthropy will underline his recent headline-grabbing apology for shameful personal conduct. Following the dinner service, Frida catches Slater’s eye and he whisks the roommates away to a private island.

They are joined by his entourage comprising right-hand man Vic (Christian Slater), cancelled sitcom star Tom (Haley Joel Osment), professional chef Cody (Simon Rex), dotcom wunderkind Lucas (Levon Hawke), Hot Survivor Babes reality star Sarah (Adria Arjona), app designer Camilla (Liz Caribel) and stoner Heather (Trew Mullen). Frida and Jess embrace the psychedelic drug-fuelled hedonism but something is dreadfully off-kilter in paradise and guests will lose much more than access to their mobile phones.

Taking its title from a visual cue to indicate you require help, Blink Twice careens towards a sickening and bloodthirsty conclusion with directorial brio and an overtly menacing score courtesy of composer Chanda Dancy. By design, the script withholds character back stories until a big reveal, which limits total emotional engagement, but Ackie and Tatum are well-matched and Geena Davis is delightful as Slater’s scatty personal assistant. Welcome the comic relief to dissipate tension because it’s fleeting. Storytelling hammer blows weaken in terms of believability once the initial shock has worn off but Kravitz swings big and when she does connect, the repulsion and indignation are visceral.

– Jo Planter