***TRIGGER WARNING: The movie being reviewed is Rated R, it contains mentions of rape, sexual assault, memory loss, along with drug and alcohol abuse.***

“Blink Twice” is intense, highly abrasive, and extraordinarily unsettling, leading this to have a 6.5 rating out of 10 on IMDb. The movie starts unassuming, but has a far from comfortable, underlying feeling of: “Something is going to go wrong, but when?” That feeling does not give away until the last 20 minutes, keeping the watcher on the edge of their seat, and genuinely enthralled.

Nofilmschool, explains the difference between a psychological thriller and a traditional thriller, saying, “Unlike traditional thrillers, which primarily focus on physical danger and high-stakes scenarios, psychological thrillers delve into the minds of their characters, exploring the darker, more intricate facets of human psychology.”

“Blink Twice” was released on August 23, 2024, flying under the radar for a while. However, this does not take away from the relevance of the themes within the movie, and it’s worth a watch. Starring Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie, “Blink Twice” is a psychological thriller, truly living up to the label.

“Going into the movie I was really excited. I love a good drama/thriller and this movie checked all of those boxes,” said Natalie Nutting, a fellow Highline College student. “I was the one that pushed my family to watch this movie and I’m so glad I did. It had a bit of a slow beginning but it quickly picked up.”

The feel of the movie has something off about it the entire time, although it starts quite…boring. There is a lot of plot building, discovery about the characters, and their emotions in the beginning. Something to remember while watching the film is to not trust anyone or anything – everything has meaning if you’re quick enough to catch it.

Going into “Blink Twice” the first time, you’re always guessing, “Is this a clue?” “What about this?” “That HAS to be a clue.” “That’s weird…..I wonder why there’s so much emphasis there.” It keeps you on the edge of your seat, keeps you weirded out, for lack of a better term.

“This is a movie you definitely want to watch twice,” Nutting also mentioned. “You pick up on hints that you didn’t see the first time. I was in utter shock when the credits rolled, there was plot twist, after plot twist. This movie definitely isn’t for the faint of heart, but I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good ‘Who done it?’ thriller.” 

The film has a very strong focus on Desideria lilies, connecting said flower to paranoia through the tense score, and it’s not a spoiler to say that they contribute to the main storyline closely, as they are seen throughout the entire film and it’s made obvious that there is something wrong with those flowers.

Tatum steps out of his normal acting style to play genius, tech-billionaire, Slater King, who has a deeply tainted past that he tries to cover up in the media by apologizing, profusely, and claiming that he’s seeked counseling. Tatum plays his role beautifully, perfectly embodying the suave, flirty, and abashed “lover-boy.” Presenting the idea that he is not one to fear, believing that fact himself until the very end.

Ackie’s character, Frida, is a cocktail waitress, living in a small apartment with her best friend and seemingly obsessed with King, having met him before briefly at one of his galas, the memory sticking when he compliments her nails.

Your head will spin as you try to grasp onto reality because you cannot tell what is wrong, only that there is something terribly wrong happening, which is made abundantly clear about a third of the way through the movie. 

“Blink Twice” was written, produced, and directed by Zoë Kravitz. And although the actress has been in the industry for a long time, this film marks the directorial debut for the actress-turned-director.

In an interview with W Magazine, Kravitz reveals some of the passion that drove her to write “Blink Twice”:

“I think I had come to a place of frustration within society, culture, power dynamics, both in my own life; things I’d observed, things that have happened to friends of mine. … I wasn’t thinking about whether I was going to direct it or not. I wasn’t really thinking about whether it would get made or not, it was just something that needed to come out… At that point I think I felt like I saw the world so clearly in my mind that I just don’t think I would have felt comfortable asking someone else to direct it.”

Kravitz’s directing added a personal depth to the film; her vision of the true essence of female fear and rage was successfully captured on screen. The events pictured within the movie happen everyday, the point of this movie is to point this fact out.

Abuse of power is real, sexual assault is real, rape is real, and every woman has a story, cis-gendered or not.