Blink Twice (Zoë Kravitz, 2024)
With Blink Twice actress Zoë Kravitz makes a very impressive debut as a feature film director. The movie works both as social satire and as a thriller with bloody horror elements.
Kravitz wrote the movie together with E.G. Feigenbaum. The result plays like a mixture of movies as varied like Knives Out 2, Get Out, The Menu and The Stepford Wives, while still adding plenty of original stuff.
It all starts innocently enough when ambitious gig worker Frida (Naomi Ackie), accompanied by her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) unexpectedly meets tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) at his fundraising gala.
They hit it off and before you know it both Frida and Jess are invited by Slater and his crew to spend time with them at his tropical private island.
On the island it’s party time all the time, including copious amounts of drink and drugs, but if things seem to good to be true, they usually are.
In the second half the movie turns much darker than you might think, based on the marketing that tries to sell Blink Twice as a fun date movie with a twist or two.
Having said that, the movie looks gorgeous from start to finish, tech credits are most definitely pro, while Kravitz directs a superb cast (that includes Christian Slater, Geena Davis, Haley Joel Osment and Kyle McLachlan in supporting roles) with steady hand.
Ackie and Tatum have great chemistry together, while Adria Arjona offers more proof (if that would be needed after Hit Man) that she should really be in everything.
In her somewhat ambiguous role as Sarah, she is first pitched as Frida’s rival in vying for Slater’s attention, before they both realize that women are often forced into competition with each other - one of the movie’s main themes.
Instead Frida and Sarah become allies in quite violently kicking against the pricks of the over privileged and abusive patriarchy.
Blink Twice (‘… if you’re in danger’) is the unexpected late August surprise that you hope for but only comes along only every so often. Here’s wishing and hoping that for Zoë Kravitz this is the start of a glorious career as a director.
Note: Blink Twice is released next week.