Following in the footsteps of an endless list of actors-turned-filmmakers, “The Batman” actress Zoë Kravitz — daughter of legendary musician Lenny Kravitz — is shedding her catsuit and utilizing her skyrocketing star power for a turn behind the camera. Produced, co-written and directed by Kravitz, “Blink Twice” is a psychological thriller out of Amazon MGM Studios
Though showing signs of inexperience through narrative convolution and jarring tonal inconsistencies, Kravitz’s debut is surprisingly well-shot and tons of fun.
“Blink Twice” stars Naomi Ackie as cocktail waitress Frida, who is abruptly invited to accompany tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) and his friends for a dream vacation on his private island. You guessed it — things are not as they seem, and as peculiar things begin to occur, Frida’s dream quickly devolves into a nightmare.
What “Blink Twice” does particularly well is build tension. The narrative is familiar and extremely predictable — see “The Menu,” “Get Out” or “Don’t Worry Darling” — but it’s never overly boring. There’s an undying build-up of uneasiness present throughout that keeps you locked in. What it lacks in novelty and profundity, it makes up for in uncomfortable thrills, claustrophobic direction and excellent performances.
Though we don’t get to know her well enough before chaos ensues, Ackie’s Frida is an admirable vessel to carry the story along. Her gradual realization of dark truths runs parallel to the audience’s, guiding us through the island’s squirm-worthy secrets. She gets the chance to play hopelessly aloof, frozen with fear and overtaken by revenge — a superb performance.
My favorite performance, however, comes from the lovely Adria Arjona, who plays fellow island invitee and reality TV-star, Sarah. As she begins to see the light alongside Frida, Arjona shifts gears and showcases her electric it-girl capabilities.
A movie like “Blink Twice” simply cannot work without a convincing antagonist. Luckily, Channing Tatum delivers at the top of the ticket. He possesses a brand of toxic charisma that renders him annoyingly likable; the kind where you desperately hope that someway, somehow he’s not the disgusting creep inevitably bound to be revealed. He’s nonchalantly evil until the facade comes crashing down and his true, rageful colors begin to seep through. Tatum’s venture into villain territory shouldn’t stop here.
From a technical standpoint, “Blink Twice” might not go above and beyond, but it’s crafted in a way that perfectly suits this story. The sound design and shot composition work to create a disorienting atmosphere, where time and reality feel jumbled and secluded to the island. Certain sights and sounds are enhanced or distorted to make the copious amount of drugs and alcohol consumed by the islanders feel like they’re coursing through the viewer’s system. I felt strapped to the danger.
However, the narrative end-result is distractingly uneven. There is a specific plot device whose very existence is already odd, but its explanation and usage feels downright inconsistent and arbitrary. It was sometimes unclear which characters had obtained which knowledge. The natural predictability still made it easy to follow, but I wish it was told more coherently.
Speaking of coherence, the tone is all over the place. The big reveal unfolds an extremely dark and disturbing twist that isn’t handled particularly well. The relative light-heartedness present throughout most of the film made me forget about the trigger warning proceeding the film. Oh boy, is that twist a reminder. Don’t get me wrong, “Blink Twice” being disturbing and graphic isn’t a problem, but in tandem with the rest of the film, it just doesn’t work. And to be honest, I was hoping for more ambitious, creative answers to Slater King and the island’s secrets.
“Blink Twice” might be messy, but it’s thrilling and cleverly shot enough to solidify Kravitz’s potential. Tatum, Ackie and the entire cast shine in an all-in-all inconsistent film.
