"Blink Twice" - A modern take on the rape-revenge genre.

Josh
Nov 25, 2024
8 min read

Zoë Kravitz (2024)

Success is the best revenge.

The rape-revenge sub-genre of horror movies is a genre rarely expressed through the eyes of a woman. Naming some of the well-known titles, I Spit on Your Grave (1978, Meir Zarchi), The Last House on the Left (1972, Wes Craven), Irreversible (2002, Gaspar Noé), The Virgin Spring (1960, Ingmar Bergman) or Savage Streets (1984, Danny Steinmann, Tom DeSimone ). At the top of my head, only two come to mind when trying to think of any directed by a woman, Revenge (2017, Coralie Fargeat who did the fantastic The Substance) and this. And with the recent events unravelling about the white parties hosted by P. Diddy, it’s an interesting time to release this film. Not sure if this was coincidental timing or if there were some backend shenanigans but Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut is an interesting mystery/thriller that twists the male-dominated genre.

Our introduction to Slater King, a tech-billionaire played by Channing Tatum, is via a series of stock publicist written answers apologising for… something. It isn’t mentioned but you can probably guess what it was. We see our lead, Frida played by Namoi Ackie, longing over him both while watching these apologies and while working. Her friend, Jess (Alia Shawkat), both work low-end waiter jobs for high-class events where Slater hosts corporate events. There are early hints from Frida’s manager that she’s already attempted to chat up Slater during a previous event. With luck on her side, she embarrasses herself in front of everyone but catches the attention of King who seems infatuated by her. Quickly introducing her to all his close friends (Basically them showing off their massive A-list cast including; Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Haley Joel Soment, Levon Hawke, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan, Adria Arjona, Liz Carible, Trew Mullen) and then inviting her and Jess to their private… island… didn’t some other controversial character own a private island.

It is here where the girls are treated to a life of luxury, where they’re constantly reassured that they don’t have to do anything they don’t want to do or request their validation of having a good time. As their days and weeks blend consisting of drinking champagne, exquisite food, and lounging around by the pool in the tropical sun, their nights turn into drug-fuelled benders only to wake up and do it all again. Throughout the film, I was heavily reminded of Get Out (2017, Jordan Peele), as things are slightly off to where your mind tries desperately to form a narrative of what’s happening. And a savvy viewer will pick up on hints and clues that, honestly, had some pretty good callbacks. And not in the way where the characters have to explain it but in a way where upon reflection of the movie or during a second viewing you’ll pick up on them.

During the visit, Jess starts acting strange only to disappear the next day without anyone else remembering that she even existed. Even for Frida, it takes her a couple of days to realise, while as an audience member, you’re asking why aren’t they worried about her.

The perfume supplied by the island is revealed to be the cause of their forgetfulness and it’s not until the venom of an indigenous snake reverts the side effect causing a flood of memories of what happened between the drug-infused nights and the following morning. Slater's posse would spend the nights abusing and sexually assaulting these women, even going as far as inviting other people over to the island to join in. Where they receive a gift bag with the perfume that’ll cause them to forget the atrocities they’ve committed against the innocent. During this revelation, there is a clever reincorporation as before the reveal we see the girls running around and laughing, asking themselves “Wait, why are we running?”. Only to then see similar actions in reality where they’re getting chased by men while screaming.

And this where an issue with the film crops up for me as the pacing to get this moment takes so long. And I wouldn’t be that worried if there were some more interesting setups, or character dynamics throughout the first half but instead, it just feels like a flashy version of Love Island or something. This is disappointing because the most engaging and tense part of the film is having the girls act brainwashed in front of the men which barely happens.

But, we end the movie with the girls getting their revenge as visions of past events flood their heads, killing the men in a pretty blunt manner. Effective enough that it’s not over the top and cartoonish but enough to make each hit satisfying and squirm in your seat as a corkscrew goes through someone's hand. Then the movie tops off with a final twist that this is the second time Frida has been to the island, making sense of why her size dress was available upon arrival, explaining strange interactions with the locals, as well as a prominent scar on her head that was never explained.

With the large cast, everyone gets a small moment to shine through a small trait that makes their character somewhat distinct, although it leans heavily more in other actor's favour. The dynamic between Frida and Sarah (Adria Arjona)is really good where subtleties in their conversations between themselves and others around them change as more is revealed. Although the other two girls (Liz Carible, Threw Mullen) that inhabit the island are pretty one-dimensional, where they characters could boil down to a single stereotype or phrase. As are the men with some being able to elevate their material, such as Christian Slater early on making snarky comments with sub-text that makes sense with the second visit reveal. Simon Rex has a dude-bro persona played to the 9’s twisted with someone who has an intense passion for cooking which was something different. But with our main man, Tatum, he didn’t do anything that had me believe he was a tech-mogul. We know that tech billionaires have evolved passed the glasses-wearing nerds of the past. Still, even modern tech billionaires, such as Zuckerberg, Musk and even Bezos, have a level of strangeness to them where on the outside they look human but after watching interviews with them you can see something strange under the surface that explains, “Oh, I can see how they managed to get where they are.” There was nothing deep like that with Slater instead taking on more of a Bruce Wayne persona without the layers of an alternate persona.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ve got Kyle MacLachlan who plays that persona perfectly. Acting as Slater's psychologist who has participated in events on the island with the intrigue that nothing will be remembered, he has interactions with Frida that are slightly off as he can’t remember ever meeting her despite meeting her outside the island.

But to bounce back, we have a small role played by the beautifully talented Gena Davis as a bumbling assistant, Stacy, who does a lot of the backend work of the island. Although, her character is barely developed, which is disappointing due to where her character ends up.

So if it wasn’t obvious enough, the film isn’t subtle with the messages it’s sharing. We get hit over the head with messages of power dynamics between the wealthy and poor wanting a piece of their lifestyle. The dynamic between men and women with the constant pursuit of control over one another, both physically and mentally with the illusion of giving someone everything despite treating them terribly. And of course, wanting to forget. Out of all the themes, I wish they explored this more deeply, as everything is fairly surface-level. Which sometimes isn’t a bad thing, the previously mentioned Get Out has an obvious message but has a concept that lends itself nicely to the message with layers. There is a chilling moment where Stacy attacks Frida saying “Do you think I want to remember”, indicating that she knows about the goings-on but turns a blind eye. Almost like a boomer mentality to domestic violence contrasting with the modern approach of taking action. Characters talk about actively trying to forget any form of trauma in their past making it out like a positive form of therapy, where our group of abused fight their trauma.

However, the film does take care in subtle moments of world-building and setting up of revelations without spelling everything out to the audience. Such as at the start of the film Frida’s manager mentions that the last time Slater was at an event like this she spent way too long talking to him instead of working, making sense with the revelation that this has all happened before. Or that fact that native flowers to the island are hinted at being the core ingredient in the perfume that wipes memories, something that isn’t explained but you can piece it all together. And a great little character moment with Levon Hawke’s character as he rocks up to breakfast with a bruised eye and you assume that this was inflected by one of the girls the night before. Or a small moment where Frida mentions that he smells nice. But by the end, the character is mocked by Slater as he calls him out for never participating in the nightly events and uses the perfume to forget what his friends are doing. This small moment stood out as trying to say something with layers, as Slater calls him weak for doing nothing but not referring to the abuse but the effort he brings to work. You also can read into the sub-text about friends being too spineless to call out shitty behaviour.

Lastly, I’ll touch on the ending because I’m pretty mixed about it. Although we end in the blood bath with everyone, Frida decides to spare Slater, spiking his vape with the perfume causing him to turn into a dunce. The ending cuts to the event where they first met with Frida pronounced as Mrs. King, the new CEO of the company. I’m not 100% sure what this scene was trying to say if this was a moment where she’s taking control of the situation and of the person who has caused her so much pain. But I feel this could also be read as a cycle thing with the film's constant persistence in reminding the audience that the rich aren’t ethical. For me, in a rape-revenge movie, you want to see the worst get their satisfying comeuppance. But his conclusion is watching him struggle to open vape juice like a toddler at a public event.

Would I recommend Blink Twice? Yes. Do I think it’s one of the better rape revenge movies? Yes. Would I want to watch this again? Probably. Do I think this movie is bad? No. It’s an impressive directorial debut by Zoë Kravitz that has enough going on to keep me engaged but I’m not going to be running around telling people to go to the theatres immediately to watch it. But I can say for certain, this movie would’ve gotten one more star if the studios weren’t weak and kept the original title Pussy Island.