Blink Twice is Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut, and Paradise is not quite what it seems on Slater King’s beautiful island. The psychological thriller stars Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat. Ahead of its August 23 release in theatres, Blink Twice premiered at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles on August 8.
Kravitz started working on the film in 2017, right before the emergence of the #Metoo movement. The film initially had a more explicit title, but it was changed after some backlash, most notably from women offended by the original title. Due to its depiction of sexual violence, drug use, alcohol use, and foul language, the film is rated R. Additionally, the studio released a trigger warning for the movie to the public. Warning: The following contains spoilers for the movie.
Blink Twice Explained
The movie is so rich with twists and clues that some viewers may want to see it twice if they haven’t already. Blink Twice starts like a dream: Frida, a cocktail waitress (Ackie), and her friend Jess (Shawkat) get swept away by the lush private island of tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum). However, he was in the middle of controversy and apologized for vague misbehavior in a televised interview.
Beyond the pool, beautiful brunches, and endless moments of drug and alcohol use, something very sinister lurks in this seeming paradise. Frida and Jess are joined by other women, including his sister, Stacy (Davis), who serves as his assistant. Everyone gives up their cell phones, and every day, they drink champagne, brunch good food, take drugs, and relax at the pool. At first, the only threat on the island seems to be the venomous snakes that hide in the grass.
The women and one young man are given a perfume that wipes their memory, which allows Slater and the other man to sexually assault and torture them without their repeated knowledge, showcasing Slater’s sinister side. Afterward, Jess is bitten by a snake one night and disappears the day after. Jess was the first of the women to notice the culty nature of the matching clothes and the rules on surrendering phones.
Blink Twice Ending
Frida eventually comes to a terrifying realization: Where is Jess? She has not seen her friend since the snake bite, and the other girls on the island seem to have no memory of her being on the island in the first place. The women take drugs given to them by Slater and his entourage each night. The women wake up each morning with no memory of the night before. The snake’s venom counteracts the repressed memories and the amnestic effects of the drugs as traumatic visions trickle into Frida’s mind.
Under the influence of drugs, the women (and one man, it’s implied) are sexually assaulted again and again. Because they are stripped of those horrid memories, they unknowingly vacation with their abusers. Frida has one horrible revelation: the men killed Jess due to her regaining her memories. Frida explains her discovery to Sarah, a contestant on a survival reality show, played by Adria Arjona. They hatch a plan to help the other women on the island by mixing the green venom with tequila and serving it in glasses.
To wait for the venom to kick in, Sarah and Frida buy time by pretending they are having a good time while secretly giving the other women the snake venom in hopes that they will regain their memories. Shortly after, the memories kick in for the other women, and they fight the people sexually assaulting them. The men are killed and mutilated by their victims, and viewers can’t help but cheer them on in their acts of vengeance.
Frida Takes Matters In Her Own Hands
The end of Blink Twice is like the manifestation of the phrase “If you can’t join them, beat them” and bears similar endings to the films The Menu, Knives Out, and Poor Things. While the Me Too movement led to the takedown of several powerful men who abused their power in Hollywood, other men laid low, apologized, and continued with their careers with little to no justice for their victims.
In the crucial act of the movie, only Frida, Slater, and Sarah remain alive on the island. Slater finds a thrill in the destruction. Frida gains the upper hand by filling his vape with psychedelic drugs. Frida is honored at a gala similar to the opening scene’s party, not Slater. Frida has taken on the CEO role of Slater’s tech company, taking the power from him after all he’s done to her.
Slater even says in the movie that you can only say “I’m sorry” so many times before those words lose meaning. The ending, Blink Twice, punches at the harsh reality and turns it on its head. Slater’s “therapist,” Rich (MacLachlan), is stunned to find out that Frida remembers who he is and that she remembers the events on the island, symbolizing that the power has shifted in her favor.
Blink Twice is now playing in theatres.
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