Zoë Kravitz makes her directorial debut in this psychological thriller, Blink Twice. Co-written with E.T. Feigenbaum, the film stars Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Geena Davis, and more.

Frida and her roommate, Jess work as cocktail waitresses and both feel they’re overdue for a vacation away from everything. While at work, Frida lays eyes upon Slater King, a billionaire tech mogul and becomes infatuated with him. After a chance encounter, Slater offers her and Jess to travel with him and his friends for free, to his private island with a beautiful mansion for a luxurious party with all the alcohol and party drugs to have the time of their lives. Life couldn’t be more perfect, but Frida experiences some bizarre events and has a strange eerie feeling about the island. When she decides to take a closer look, her perfect holiday quickly becomes a living nightmare, as repressed memories suddenly begin to resurface.

Naomi Ackie shines brightest in her role as Frida, stuck in a situation she has no way out of. Her infatuation with the charming Slater King starts as a dream come true before things take a turn for the worse. She shows plenty of character development, going from living her happiest life to fearing for her life, and audiences will experience that same helplessness and confusion with her.

Channing Tatum gets the opportunity to show a different side to his acting range in the role of Slater King. It’s hard to go into detail about his character without giving too much away, as everything good about the movie relies heavily on its major plot points.

All the advertisements and trailers give away his character’s possible ulterior motives, but there will still be plenty of shocking surprises throughout the film from him and other characters.

Blink Twice is truly a psychological thriller, as it toys with the emotions and confusion of not only the characters but also the audience. The first half of the film can be confusing, before the truth gets uncovered in the second half and everything starts to make sense, most disturbingly. Mysterious flashbacks will appear on screen for a split second, more than enough to give glimpses of what has been happening.

To add to the fear and confusion, Frida must try and blend in by still partaking in the party drugs or at least pretending to, so she doesn’t raise any suspicions, even though the drugs might be what’s hiding the truth. Even worse, all the guests are cut off from the outside world as they must turn in their phones when they arrive. At this moment, Frida begins to second-guess her impulsive decision to trust a good-looking and charming billionaire but is willing to ignore it so she can get the holiday she desperately needs.

Women watching this film will be the most disturbed, as it references real-life issues that sadly still plague the world today. It sends a strong message to teach anyone to not trust strangers, no matter how rich, charming, or good-looking, because you might end up in a situation with no way out.

The film features a star-studded cast that includes the aforementioned Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum, as well as Christian Slater, Geena Davis, Haley Joel Osment, and Kyle MacLachlan to name a few.

In a way, having all these big-name stars helps keep audiences guessing who might be the victims and who might be the villains. Even some of the supporting cast have big moments with a complete personality change, that will surely leave an impression.

The set pieces all play a big part in the film. It begins in Frida and Jess’ dirty home, which is only seen at the beginning, but it is a stark contrast to where the rest of the film is set. The island is beautiful, and the mansion and all its facilities are stunning. It truly looks and feels like paradise, even if certain things make the characters feel uneasy but willing to ignore it to have the time of their lives. The soundtrack has something for every occasion whether things are friendly or intense, adding to the overall mystery of the film.

Most psychological thrillers rely on dark and creepy locations, but Blink Twice does the complete opposite by taking place in a dream holiday destination and still delivers intense, scary, and shocking moments. It may feel a little rushed as the truth gets unveiled, as a lot of the movie is spent setting up the scenarios. The entire film does an incredible job of keeping audiences engaged and glued to their seats to see what happens next and find out what’s going on, no matter how disturbing it may be.

Zoë Kravitz has an eye for detail and delivers in her directorial debut. The entire cast all play their parts excellently, whether their roles are big or small. Naomi Ackie’s performance will help audiences feel everything she feels, and Channing Tatum fans will see a whole different side to him. Blink Twice is the kind of vacation you’d dream of, but later wish you said no to and is an experience that you may or may not forget anytime soon, assuming you make it out alive.

Written by: Sammy Hanson