‘Blink Twice’ Flinches More than Once

Blink Twice

★ ★ ★

‘Blink Twice’ begins with a “trigger warning,” stating that intense scenes of abuse might be disturbing to certain viewers and potentially too much to bear. Given that we’ve already bought a ticket, one might wonder if that warning should come before purchasing a seat.

Warnings like this are so rare in theaters, I can’t remember the last time I saw one. It had me a tad concerned about what I got myself into, yet I simultaneously wondered if it was merely an attempt to spark intrigue. Keep note of this; I’ll address it more later.

Liz Caribel and Trew Mullen
© 2024 Amazon MGM Studios

For the most part, this is a well-done dramatic thriller that maintains intrigue as the plot unfolds. Going in, we know from the trailer our main character is invited to a private island where paradise turns to torment. Each scene brings us closer to an impending doom as we wait for the other shoe to drop.

Frida (Naomi Ackie) works as a cocktail waitress for a catering company. She’s working a gala hosted by disgraced billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum). Slater is attempting to come back from a scandal of inappropriate behavior resulting from an abuse of power. He’s seeking the public’s forgiveness with meagerly sincere attempts at public apologies and transparent philanthropy.

Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie
© 2024 Amazon MGM Studios

Frida has worked one of his galas before and is starstruck when she meets him. It’s apparent that she’s very eager to look beyond his past and applaud his attempt at change.

Frida works the gala with her best friend and roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat). Jess has smuggled in beautiful gowns for her and Frida to change into at the end of their shift. They then mingle with other guests, and Frida eventually catches Slater’s attention.

Naomi Ackie and Adria Arjona
© 2024 Amazon MGM Studios

Slater eventually invites Frida and Jess to join him and his friends on his private island. Frida and Jess waste no time saying ‘yes’ and away they go on his private jet.

When they arrive, they’re joined by Slater’s friends and acquaintances: Rich (Kyle MacLachlan), his therapist; Vic (Christian Slater), a photographer; Cody (Simon Rex), a private chef; Tom (Haley Joel Osment), a DJ; and recent a college graduate, Lucas (Levon Hawke).

There are several women who were also invited: Cody’s apparent new girlfriend, the star of a Survivor-like reality TV show, Sarah (Adria Arjona); heavy partiers Camilla (Liz Caribel) and Heather (Trew Mullen); and Slater’s personal assistant Stacy (Geena Davis).

Phones are confiscated upon arrival. This should be “Uh, oh!” moment number one, but they’re already on an isolated island, so it’s likely the least of their problems. When Frida hesitates, Slater tells her she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to. She puts her phone in the confiscation bag anyway.

Frida and the other women are shown to their rooms, which are rustic and charming. Frida explores hers and finds a bottle of perfume and a used liquid lipstick. She likes the scent of the perfume, so she sprays some on and joins everyone by the pool.

Later, Slater gives the ladies a tour of the island where they see groundskeepers killing a large yellow snake. He tells them that the island had almost been overrun by these serpents and he almost hates that they must kill them.

At dinner, Cody cooks a Michelin-Star-worthy meal. After everyone’s had their fill, they each take drugs from an eyedropper placed on the tongue.

Days like this repeat for the most part, with each day bringing clues to the plot twists coming ahead.

Naomi Ackie and Alia Shawat
© 2024 Amazon MGM Studios

The clues are masterfully placed, and the film is paced very well as the secrets of Slater and the island are revealed, indicating that freshman filmmaker Zoë Kravitz has a promising directorial career ahead of her.

What’s next is a bit of a spoiler, so read cautiously if you haven’t seen it.

My issue with the film is with the trigger warning.

The abuse happens between the time they take the droplets of drugs each night until sunrise. Each morning, they women wake up having forgot anything that has happened before they went to sleep. A certain event, that I won’t spoil here, allows Frida to remember the abuse that happens each night.

Thankfully, we’re only given glimpses of what happened, and I appreciate Kravitz’s restraint. Often, our imagination is worse than what we see on screen.

The abuse is beyond egregious, and Slater and his boys deserve every bit of punishment coming to them.

But, given the trigger warning, I expected to feel the emotional trauma forced upon these women. I expected to grip my armrest in anger and celebrate as they take justice in their own hands.

Maybe this is because this film flinches at giving us the seriously deep connection with the characters the subject requires.

‘Blink Twice’ flinches at the abuse as well. Though it’s presented, and we’re told that it’s quite brutal, it feels like more of a plot point than a poignant exploration.

This movie flinches at several opportunities to explore the magnitude of such abuse. I want to be sensitive to people who might relate deeply to this film, but the trigger warning felt like a gimmick given its casual dealing with abuse.

Still, there’s some great filmmaking here, and that’s nothing to flinch at.

Mystery & Thriller