Blink Twice | Film Review

When Frida (Naomi Ackie) and her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) are invited to spend time on a private island by billionare Slater King (Channing Tatum) they jump at the chance and have a great time partying in paradise. But when strange things start occurring, and the girls start questioning their feelings, they discover that they're in more danger than they ever realised.

The trailer for this film was really vague, and with good reason! So while I was looking forward to seeing it, I had no idea what it would really be about.

I did a complete 180 while watching this film. I went from bored, to disturbed, to completely loving the way this story was told. And now, having had time to sit with it, I absolutely love the film.

But let's go through each of those emotions.

The boredom. The first parts of the film feel really repetitive, there's a weird, off tone and you're just begging for something to happen because you have absolutely no idea what's going on or where it's going.

But with this, once you see the whole film and understand the story, the reason for this repetition makes complete sense. Not only that, but it's actually necessary to truly understand what the days on this island are like and how the characters feel.

And then when we find out the twist, yes it was disturbing, especially because I had no idea where it was going, or how dark it would be. In a way I'm glad I didn't see any trigger or content warnings, because that would have been a major spoiler, but at the same time it would have been nice to be a bit prepared so it wasn't as disturbing.

But again, the disturbing parts are disturbing because they need to be. Because that's exactly what they are, and those feelings are exactly what the audience should be feeling. The film does a great job of evoking the exact right feelings at the right moment.

And then as mentioned, I ended up loving it. After going through those emotions, it felt like a relief to finally understand what was happening, and to see the characters try to solve it. Of course I won't give any spoilers, but the pre-ending sequence was almost exactly what I wanted it to be.

And while I didn't love the actual ending itself, it was definitely a really interesting, original turn for the story to take.

The acting was amazing. All of the actors did a phenomenal job with their roles and really made the film as powerful as it was. If you don't believe the actors, then you don't believe what happens on the island and the entire thing falls apart.

And then there's the fact that this was Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut. This is such an ambitious story for any director, let alone a first-timer, and the direction was great! You can tell that this was a passion project, that there's a clear important message, and that so much went into it, and Kravitz did an amazing job.

Overall, I loved the film. All of my initial mixed feelings were proven completely wrong by the time the twist came and that's exactly what a twist should do. Based on the tone, and my initial feelings, I can understand why some may not feel as strongly about the film as I do, and while I don't think it was perfect, I think everyone involved did a great job and I can't wait to see it again.

8/10