Tina Kakadelis
The first trailer for Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut, Blink Twice, has been a long time coming. Seven years ago, it was announced that Kravitz had started to write a feature film with the working title of Pussy Island. It would be five long years before production for the film even began and now, two years later, we finally have a first look at Blink Twice.
“So…everyone’s dead,” is quite the way to open a trailer. The opening line is said by Slater King (Channing Tatum). His face, lit by an ominous fire, is bloodied and bruised and there’s a bloodstain on his shirt. Almost immediately, the trailer cuts to a mansion on fire and, with the snap of someone’s fingers, we see this mansion in all of its former glory. The house is on a private island that belongs to Slater who is known for his legendary blowout parties. While at a black tie event, Slater meets Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress. The two are infatuated with one another, so Slater invites Frida and her friend (Alia Shawkat) to come to his island with his closest friends. At first, the two are overwhelmed by the glamour, but things aren’t what they seem.
Blink Twice looks to be a psychological thriller. That genre thrives off twists and turns that the audience doesn’t seem coming, but the trailer of Blink Twice seems to give away all of its secrets. We see that the party attendees on the island can sense that something is amiss and that they might be being drugged. The trailer also shows that Frida’s friend goes missing while on the island. Plus, we can’t forget the trailer’s opening line where Slater says that everyone is dead. Will this prove to be one of the instances where a trailer ruins the movie experience because we already know too much? Of course, only time will tell, but it does feel like we know too much too soon. Let’s hope Kravitz and her co-writer, E.T. Feigenbaum, have quite a few more tricks up their sleeves.
The cast list of Blink Twice really needs no introduction. Tatum burst onto the screen with hits like Magic Mike and She’s the Man. Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, Simon Rex, Christian Slater, and Haley Joel Osment are ’80s and ’90s movie royalty. Shawkat is most known for her role in Arrested Development, but has more recently carved a niche out for herself in the indie film world. Ackie might be the one cast member with the least amount of name recognition, but those who watched the second season of The End of the F***ing World will recognize her. Ackie will also star in the highly anticipated Mickey 17 by director Bong Joon-ho alongside Robert Pattinson and Steven Yeun. Throw all of these actors together in one movie and we’re surely in for something special.
While this does mark Kravitz’s first time in the director’s chair, the trailer is thrilling. If the editing in the film is anything like that of this first look, we are in for a treat. Slater’s fancy mansion looks like a nightmarish version of a symmetrical Wes Anderson set. Blink Twice looks to be strange, funny, and unsettling. The trailer calls to mind recent fare like Triangle of Sadness, The Menu, and Saltburn. We’ll have to wait a few more months to see how Kravitz’s vision stands out from the rest.
Directed by Zoë Kravitz and co-written with E.T. Feigenbaum and starring Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Haley Joel Osment, and Kyle MacLachlan, Blink Twice will be released in theaters on August 23, 2024.
