When word surfaced around three years ago that Zoë Kravitz would be overseeing Channing Tatum in her directorial debut, the working title of the film attracted plenty of attention. That was the case because it only seemed natural that the Magic Mike trilogy star would be starring in a movie called P***y Island. Yet eventually, the working title gave way to a real one, Blink Twice, which is now approaching its time in theaters.
Whew. Let’s just say that this film’s trailer looks slightly stressful — “so, everybody’s dead” is not a line of dialogue that bodes well — and has inspired YouTube comments including “If Saltburn was Midsommar” and “…or the lovechild of Get Out and Glass Onion.” What can we expect from Blink Twice?
Plot
Beyond movies that highlight his dance moves, Channing Tatum mainly dabbles in comedy and action with occasional dark moments, including his antagonistic turn in The Hateful Eight. In Blink Twice, he apparently careens into evil to portray billionaire Slater King, who runs an island that appears to be fueled by some of the scandalous vibes where IRL famous people are later exposed as patrons. Yet let’s not get political and, instead, let’s move this discussion away from any resemblances to reality for this thriller.
Kravitz, who wrote the film with E.T. Feigenbaum, previously told Deadline that the original title of the movie was “a nod” (albeit a somewhat “playful” nod) “to this time and place we claim to not be in anymore, in terms of sexual politics.” She added, “People are evolving and changing but there is still a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths from past behavior.” Clearly, Slater King’s island is not the paradise that he sells it to be, and yes, this looks like shades of a story that we’ve seen before but with additional twists:
“[T]ech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, and sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive.”
Cast
The Blink Twice cast includes not only Tatum but also Naomi Ackie, Christian Slater, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, and Alia Shawkat.
Release Date
Blink Twice arrives in theaters on August 23 courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
Trailer
Behold Channing Tatum enjoying this dastardly role.