"Blink Twice" - Review

Struggling young server Frida (Naomi Ackie) gets swept up in an invite to the luxury island of recently controversial tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum), for a long week of partying and hanging out with his friends. But as she and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) unwind with drinking, narcotics and the company of Slater King, his friends and some women they have invited, something seems off...

Zoe Kravitz writes and directs in her debut, and honestly? It's pretty good, even if I wish it had gone for the original title of "Pussy Island".
It's a solid fable of the abusive, unrepentant men and what they do with their power, with things to say about controlling rich people, and even the women who enable them (Geena Davis is in this! Nice!). The mystery, as it unfolds, is fun, and cut supremely well: there's a wonderful use of cameras, and some lizard/reptile imagery. The colour palette is bright and engaging, and it fits on the whole When the film veers into black comedy and satire, it manages to not wobble, and instead still feel like the same film, counteracting the rather grim shit going on (it's exactly what you think it is). The ideas and imagery of memory are well woven into the script. But honestly? The casting is what absolutely makes it:
Naomie Ackie is a wonderful lead, I like her, and her gapped teeth are refreshingly unique. She performs wonderfully.
Alia Shawkat is, again, always welcome (fuck I love "Green Room).
Channing Tatum is an odd choice, but after sleeping on it I found that I liked the performance: it's the first performance of his I've legitimately liked, even though I'm not a big fan of him as a performer.
But the supporting cast are what absolutely knock it out of the park for me.
Adria Arjona lands a 1-2 punch after "Hit Man" with this: redeeming herself for being in "Morbius" with a legitimately great turn as a reality TV star who questions why she is pitting herself against fellow women (she's honestly a highlight for me, and steals the show).
Then, there's an almost meta-commentary on the cast here, which really, really, works in my mind:
Christian Slater (fuck yes! He's BACK, baby!) plays a down and out, once-handsome sidekick and generally pretty funny best friend of Slater, named Vic - inspired casting.
Simon Rex (ADORE him, watch "Red Rocket". Stop reading this, track it down, and watch "Red Rocket") has cemented himself as an incredible performer, and here plays Mikey Saber if he wasn't a porn star: a coat-tail riding leech with none of the charm of Saber. It's great.
Haley Joel Osmont is a self-pitying incel desperate to lose weight incel (not him in real life, I think he seems like a nice guy) but again is great.
And for instant creepiness, you hire Kyle "Twin Peaks" MacLachlan!
Levon Hawke sounds EXACTLY like his dad, and is playing a sleazy Ethan Hawke rom com character, a "nice guy".
The film is slick, interesting and has things to say, and is a solid debut from Kravitz (weird to say that...)...