Blink Twice

Frida (Naomi Ackie) has lived a very quiet, sheltered life. She spends most of her time as a server at various parties. She’s also the type of person you’d find being home and asleep at 10 o’clock as opposed to out and partying; she’s okay with that though. Her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) tries to convince her that they both really need a girl’s night out. So they decide to go out for the evening, but they have a plan…

The two ladies hear that the rich and disgraced, famous billionaire, Slater King (Channing Tatum), is holding a gala. Frida and Jess decide to sneak into the gala in their server outfits and then slip into some fancy dresses to blend in with the corporate crowd.

After falling over and having an accident with a glass of champagne, Slater King comes over and asks if Frida is okay. The two begin chatting it up for hours, and Slater asks if she and her friend, Jess, would like to join him and some of his friends on his private island. Of course, the women say yes! I mean, who wouldn’t want to fly on a private jet to some billionaire’s island?

As soon as the two women, Slater and his guests arrive on the island, the party REALLY gets started. There’s plenty of drinking, romance and drugs to go around, night after night after night. Frida and Jess are more than happy to indulge, for the time being.

One morning, Frida wakes up and finds Jess missing. When she asks around about her friend, nobody can seem to recall who Jess is. She’ll turn up eventually. For now, Frida wants to focus on the fun and the romance, especially her romantic relationship with Slater.

Fast forward a few days later and, through sheer accident, Frida drinks some juice made of snake’s venom (you don’t want to know how this occurs, trust me). Suddenly, Frida begins having flashbacks of moments on the island, but what she can’t determine is are they really flashbacks or just the drugs and alcohol taking their toll? And then the flashbacks get stronger and stronger. “Something’s not right about this place…”

Frida, you don’t even know the half of it…

Looks can be deceiving. What may look like a beautiful tapestry of cinematic beauty to one person may look like one big heap of ugly cinema.

Point in case, critics around the country have praised “Blink Twice” for being insightful, bold and a hard look at a very disturbing, yet important topic: sexual violence (of all kinds). Whereas THIS critic finds “Blink Twice, as I said, one big ugly heap.

At first glance, on the outside, especially when viewing the trailer, this looks like the premise of a group of people going to a suspicious island and then “strange” occurrences happen. If that’s all this film was at its core, perhaps one might be able to look away at some of the more unsettling content (by that I mean the language, some drug use and drinking).

But there is a far more rotten core at the heart of this film. Whereas some see this movie as harmless, it is indeed HARMFUL. While I do respect what the film is attempting to accomplish (to bring awareness to domestic violence, rape, assault and other horrible acts of atrocity), the way the film is disguised leaves this particular critic and other Christian viewers in a state of disbelief.

To go into actual specifics is neither appropriate nor respectful. I will tell you that there are a couple scenes where we actually witness women being raped… ON SCREEN. I have always said that there are lines that directors shouldn’t cross… this is one of them.

To the film’s credit, the setting is both eerie and enchanting at the same time. I chalk this up to the workings of a strong Location Manager. Also, to the film’s credit, the leads are fairly solid. I could appreciate both Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum’s performances, which were both tense, mystical but subtle. Lastly, the overall pacing of the film is good.

Content of Concern

VIOLENCE: Extreme. While there is some violence in the beginning and even the middle of the film, it really goes into overdrive in the final act. Here are some scenes to be aware of: a character is bitten by a venomous snake (but somehow doesn’t die), a character’s neck is snapped, a girl is seen tied to a tree with a gag in her mouth, a guy is stabbed multiple times, graphically. In another scene, a man is stabbed in the hand (the object goes right through his hand graphically).

In flashbacks, women are sometimes bound on the ground or strung up by their wrists, and they cry out in pain as the men assault them. We also witness a woman’s throat being cut open and her body left to bleed out on the floor. A guy’s face is bludgeoned by an object used by a female character (we see his face after). Someone steps on a woman’s throat to kill her. A female character is slammed against a mirror. A woman is stabbed in the chest and killed. A male character is shot and killed. A male character is hit with a statue head. A female character bites a male character’s pinkie. A male character is shot and killed. Someone is shoved under water and brought inside. Male characters (some alive, some dead) are consumed inside a burning building.

SEXUAL CONTENT: Very Heavy to Extreme. Women are seen being assaulted and raped in a few instances (as I mention, viewers witness an actual assault take place on screen). A girl sits on a toilet with her pants pulled down. One camera shot occurs looking through the arch of a woman’s legs.

NUDITY: Several women wear cleavage bearing outfits. Some dresses show women’s bare thighs and legs. Some women are seen wearing very revealing bathing suits (showing cleavage, their bare backs, and butt cheeks). We see a few bare-chested men.

VULGARITY: Extreme. F-words (about 60), M*ther F***er (3, plus 30-40 of them used in a song on screen… I lost count), Obscene gestures (4), Sh*t (9), B.S. (1), D*ck (3), S*ck a D**k (1), B*tch (2), B*tches (2)

PROFANITY: 10, including G*d-d*mnit and Oh my g*d

ALCOHOL: Characters are seen drinking in excess throughout most of the film.

DRUGS: Characters are seen taking MDMA/Molly several times.

OCCULT: Someone is mentioned as having created an astrology app.

WOKEISM: There is clearly an agenda with this film. There are strong pro-feminist messages and statements made throughout. There is also a message that portrays toxic masculinity.

Closing Thoughts

Before “Blink Twice” even starts, there is a “Trigger Warning” message that appears on the screen. This was added on account of the serious, graphic sexual violence and domestic abuse that occurs with “It Ends With Us,” which opened two weeks prior. The warning states the following:

Trigger warning: We are proud to finally share “Blink Twice” with audiences in theaters worldwide this week. “Blink Twice” is a psychological thriller about the abuse of power. While this is a fictionalized movie, it contains mature themes and depictions of violence—including sexual violence. This may be upsetting or triggering for some viewers…”

It’s never a good sign if a film is so graphic and discomforting that it needs to place a “Trigger Warning” before the first scene even begins.

I’ve read a lot of reactions from audience members regarding “Blink Twice.” Many praise the film as “revolutionary” or a “cinematic masterpiece.” I don’t think it’s either of those two. While it is important to have discussions regarding heavy themes such as assault, rape, and such, they should be done in a more appropriate setting, not in this way in a film, or on TV.

“Blink Twice” offers no real insight into these mature and heavy themes. **SPOILER AHEAD*** In fact, we witness on a few occasions women being drugged, assaulted, raped and killed and then some characters are seen getting “revenge” by killing the men, brutally and horrifically. **END SPOILER** In addition to this, there are tons of scenes involving drug use, alcohol and vulgar language. You don’t leave the theater like you really learned anything of value. You just walk out feeling dirty.

“Blink Twice” is not a film that any audience, especially Christian, should see even ONE time. Violence, sexual violence, drugs, alcohol and language are prominent from start to finish. Do yourself a favor and skip this film. You’ll be grateful you did. It’s ugly inside and out.

• Violence: Extreme
• Vulgar/Crude language: Extreme
• Sex: Very Heavy
• Drugs/Alcohol: Very Heavy
• Wokeism: Very Heavy
• Profane language: Moderate
• Nudity: Moderate
• Occult: Mild

Learn about DISCERNMENT—wisdom in making personal entertainment decisions

Every time you buy a movie ticket or buy or rent a video you are in effect casting a vote telling Hollywood, “I’ll pay for that. That’s what I want.” Read our article

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.