Blink Twice

Starring: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Adria Arjona, Simon Rex, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan

Director: Zoë Kravitz

When cocktail waitress Frida (Ackie) gets a chance to work a gala for tech genius Slater King (Tatum), she can’t resist shooting her shot to talk to him. Much to her surprise, he invites her and her roommate Jess (Shawkat) to his private island for a few days of revelry with his close friends (Slater, Rex, Osment). Soon Frida realizes there is more going on than meets the eye after she starts noticing things like dirt under her nails that she can’t remember how it got there or items randomly appearing in her room that she can’t place. As she and fellow guest Sarah (Arjona) begin to investigate they will discover the horrifying truth of Slater King.

Release dates are an interesting thing. Usually, August is a dumping ground for movies that a studio has little confidence in, like the recent Borderlands or this week's other new release The Crow, and are just hoping to make something from just getting it out in theaters and off their books. Occasionally, studios will get a hit out of this month but those are few and far between. Add in a trailer that gave off Don’t Worry Darling vibes and you have the makings of another disappointing August thriller.

However, this is one heck of a confident directorial debut by actress Zoë Kravitz. Not only does she have a twisted story to tell, she does it by keeping the audience on their toes with jarring edits and a general sense of unease once everyone arrives on the island.

This unease carries the movie through until the big reveal occurs, which is when the movie shifts gears into a full-blown horror. This wouldn’t have worked half as well as it did without Kravitz’s assured direction. This is a horrifyingly timely movie without calling too much attention to it or becoming overly preachy and that is a testament to Kravitz and co-writer E.L. Finebaum's script.

Also helping matters is the cast. Naomi Ackie is fantastic in the lead and resists the urge to overact. Her horror feels genuine and once she teams up with Arjona they have a fantastic scene late in the movie where they are trying to not let on that they know what’s happening. It’s tense and kept me on the edge of my seat. Channing Tatum is absolutely fantastic in this playing against type. Known for playing lovable him is, here his Slater King is a charming slimeball and you can see why everyone is ultimately drawn to him.

If I had one issue with the movie, it’s that it does take a little too long to get to where it’s going. There is just a little bit too much of everyone doing drugs and having fun before the plot begins to kick into gear.

But once it kicks into gear, hold on! I hope this finds an audience because it is a well-written, acted and horrifying directorial debut.

Grade: B+