Zoë Kravitz’s Blink Twice trailer brings us to the vista formerly known as Pussy Island
Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut Blink Twice, starring Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie, premieres August 23
Film News Blink Twice
Zoë Kravitz’s long-awaited directorial debut finally has a trailer. Blink Twice, which Kravitz co-wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum, stars Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat. Of course, the horror film was originally titled something totally different, but the trailer makes clear why Blink Twice is an apt name for the new movie, which premieres August 23.
“When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island,” reads the film’s synopsis. “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.”
Blink Twice was once called Pussy Island, and in 2022, the actor-turned-director was bullish about retaining the provocative name. “The title came from that world. The title is the seed of the story,” she told The Wall Street Journal at the time. “It represents this time where it would be acceptable for a group of men to call a place that, and the illusion that we’re out of that time now.”
Despite losing its edgy title, the darkness that shadows Slater King’s unquestionable power is evident in the trailer. In the same WSJ interview, Kravitz said she “wanted to find someone who hadn’t played a dark character before, because I think that’s exciting to watch someone who’s mostly played boy next door, good guy, love interest, all of that.” Of her leading man Tatum, she explained, “I felt, even from afar, before I knew him, that he was a feminist and that he wasn’t afraid of exploring that darkness, because he knows he’s not that. That’s why I was drawn to him and wanted to meet with him. And I was right.”
Tatum agreed that in Blink Twice he plays “someone a little darker than I’ve ever played,” as he explained to Entertainment Weekly. “We are definitely exploring some very uncomfortable themes, and, I don’t want to give away too much, but I’ve definitely never played a character like [this]. It was scary to play, because it’s definitely going to be a talk piece when it comes out. I think people are really gonna want to talk about it. That’s kind of the point, in a way. It’s meant to unsettle you.”
Tatum, who described the film as a “crazy thriller,” posted on social media that the movie is “near and dear to my heart in more ways that I can count.” Blink Twice evolved from not just a creative collaboration, but into a romantic partnership between Tatum and Kravitz, who are now engaged. “Whether it was making me tea or pouring me a drink or going to whip someone into shape or whatever — he really was my protector and it was really wonderful and sweet,” Kravitz shared with GQ. “I think if you can do something like that together, it’s a good test. And we came out even stronger.”
21 Comments
Looks like grown-up Bodies Bodies Bodies. That movie kicked ass so this one better be good. Good cast; Tatum can totally pull off the tech bro.
The Harley Quinn episode where Catwoman joined Harley’s bachelorette party on Themyscira was better
Dang, it’s August 23rd already? Time flies…
Knives Out meets White Lotus meets The Beach.
was going to say knives out 2 meets A24-ified And Then There Were None
The absolute best of these was when Kevin Smith was told he couldn’t name a movie A Couple of Dicks. So he named it Cop Out because that’s exactly what the new title was.
It’s a shame, because it ruins the chance for calling the sequel Penis Peninsular.
Channing Tatum never did dark roles? So playing Danny Mcbride’s gimp in This is the end was what? A light-hearted role?
i mean yeah it was played for laughs in a comedy. did you find that to be a harrowing portrayal?
Yes I did. A baby faced star becomes a cannibals sex slave in a biblical apocalypse. It stressed me out.
Are you working under the impression that “This is the End” was a drama?
Rihanna and Michael Cera die on screen; Emma Watson thought she was going to be raped; lots of on set drama… How many more examples do you need me to give you?
You might have deep-rooted problems with your humor.
Agreed. I have reached the same conclusion. Dear OP: If you can’t figure out the movie is meant to be absurdist, then no explanation provided on a Kinja message board is going to help out. Feel free to be stressed out by “This is the End.” The rest of us will be moving on.
And you might be taking this too seriously.
So you’re saying they pussied out of calling it Pussy Island!
Feeling some Suspiria, Neon Demon, even Emerald Fennell and a whole lot of Jordan Peele (just to start). The beats and sound track are very derivative. Rich people horror, ok.
K
“Oh for fuck’s sake, it’s a movie about an island of cats! Get your mind out of the gutter!”
Some exec working on one of those sexy-people-on-a-beach reality TV shows: “So you’re saying the name Pussy Island is available?”