There has been a long history of actors turned directors in Hollywood. I think it’s because they can’t always get what they want from working with the directors they make films with on a regular basis. The latest actor turned director is Zoe Kravitz.  She had a lot to say regarding women in society and the overall hierarchy of men being in charge and as leaders in a lot of ways in the world and so forth.

Frida (Naomi Acki) is a woman who lives with her roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat) in a small apartment. They struggle to make ends meet as Cocktail waitresses. When a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a tech billionaire at his fundraising gala occurs to them, they take the chance. While mingling they start to become acquainted with the man himself, Slater King (Channing Tatum). He likes them so much that he invites them to his private island for a good time and frivolity with other men and women. 

I’ve seen a handful of films that start out as one and end up as something completely different. This movie by first-time director Zoe Kravitz is a prime example of that. She sets the stage as a party film with the characters drinking, smoking, and doing all kinds of crazy things involving acid and a pool. Then the story goes in another direction altogether. The twist is on a level of M Night Shyamalan, and that’s being kind. Some of his twists weren’t that good. Kravitz had me all the way from the get-go though with this suspense thriller.

There is a lot I can say about Channing Tatum lately. He made a cameo in Deadpool and Wolverine recently and he starred opposite Scarlet Johansson in Fly Me To The Moon. This has been a far cry from the days of Magic Mike and 21/22 Jump Street. He’s gotten better as an actor and as a result of that, he has gotten better roles. He plays a pretty aloof guy in this movie. You don’t start to see his true colors until the third act or so. He kills it though. His charming nature allows him to be friendly and loving despite his true nature. He gives one of the best performances of his career in this role. He also seems like he’s having a blast working with Kravitz who he is in a relationship with off-screen.

Naomi Ackie and Adria Arjona are two young actresses who haven’t done a lot in their careers, but what they have done has made an impact on filmgoers and critics alike. Ackie played Whitney Houston in Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Arjona recently starred opposite Glen Powell as his love interest in Hit Man. In both roles, these two women control the screen. They do similar work here as well. They carry a big portion of the story. They’re not there for their good looks even though they are in bikinis and ball gowns for the better portion of the movie. This is an ensemble in this film, but they stand out in a big way. I loved their work Herr quite a bit.

Speaking of the supporting cast there are some names you might know Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, and Simon Rex all have supporting roles in this debauchery-filled fever dream of a film. Let’s just say that they are a bunch of creepy horney men who get what they have coming to them in the end. At first, you think these guys are harmless until you see what they did. Once that happens all bets are off. These guys are good actors. I was surprised to see them in these types of creepy supporting roles. 

For a first-time director like Kravitz, she had some distinctly unique filmmaking methods. The one that stands out the most is the sound design. Instead of a typical 5.1 sound in the theater, they cranked it up to a 7.1 which was great. Every time a door shut, a glass was put down and a handshake happened. The sound was very evident. There even were a few jump scares that stood out to me. This is one of if not the best sound design I’ve seen in any film all year. I was completely blown away by it. My hat goes off to Josh Hellbroner and the entire sound design team in this movie. Kravitz knew exactly what she wanted to do regarding the sound design. 

I went into Blink Twice with no expectations.  I came out of this film being completely blown away by what I saw. I never thought it was going to be as good as it turned out to be. That is a good thing. People will be just as shocked as I was by the end result of this film. The main three performances as well as the supporting performances were all good with Ackie and Arjona as the standouts. The sound design is the real champion in this suspense thriller. Audiences will love what they see and hear from this film. Kravitz has come out of the gates fast and hard with this wild and crazy ride. I was completely floored by what I saw.  Genre film hits another home run this year, in a year full of hits.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen