Aug
Zoë Kravitz on the Shocking Ending of Blink Twice and Her Favorite Death Scene
Zoë Kravitz, making her directorial debut with Blink Twice, intentionally leaves audiences with plenty of unanswered questions by the film’s end. “I hope the open-ended questions spark conversations,” Kravitz tells Entertainment Weekly. “Is this the start, the end, or the continuation of something? I want people to debate and reflect on their feelings.”
Previously titled Pussy Island, the movie, co-written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum, stars Naomi Ackie as Frida, a cocktail waitress who’s invited to a private island owned by Slater King (Channing Tatum), a billionaire tech mogul attempting to rehabilitate his image after a public scandal. Initially, the island seems like a non-stop party, but things take a dark turn when Frida’s friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) goes missing, and no one else seems to care or even remember her.
Frida teams up with Sarah (Adria Arjona), a reality TV star who initially appears to be a rival due to her jealousy over Frida’s connection with Slater. Together, they uncover a horrifying truth: the men on the island have been assaulting the women nightly and using an amnesia-inducing poison perfume to erase their memories of the trauma. Frida eventually recalls that she had been on the island a year earlier and had suffered the same fate.
The two women discover that snake venom provides immunity to the poison, so they secretly dose the other women, helping them remember the assaults. Horrified, the women exact bloody revenge on their abusers. Frida, however, spares Slater, dosing him with the amnesia poison by adding it to his vape. A time jump shows Frida taking control of Slater’s life and company, keeping him in a confused, subservient state while she rises to power as CEO.
Kravitz enjoyed flipping the script by making Frida and Sarah allies rather than enemies. “Their friendship is my favorite relationship in the movie,” she says. “I’ve experienced jealousy and competition myself, only to realize that those feelings were unfounded. Some of my best friendships have come from overcoming that jealousy.”
Kravitz was particularly interested in exploring feminist themes, showing women supporting each other instead of competing. “It’s a small thing that happens often but isn’t always explored,” she adds. “Even if there’s initial cattiness, when things get serious, those differences fade away, and we see women taking care of each other.”
The film’s tone shifts dramatically in its final act, with the suspenseful psychological thriller turning into an action-packed, bloody revenge tale. For Kravitz, directing these intense scenes was a significant challenge. “Action is a different beast,” she admits. “Going from not directing anything to handling action sequences with blood while keeping it real was tough. I wanted to maintain genuine emotion, especially in the women, and keep the scenes grounded.”
Zoë Kravitz on the Shocking Ending of Blink Twice and Her Favorite Death Scene
Kravitz didn’t want the violence to feel gratuitous. Despite the heavy themes, she aimed to make the action scenes engaging. “There’s a sweet revenge element that’s culturally satisfying, though complicated. Balancing those aspects was a journey.”
Kravitz also shares that Christian Slater, who plays Slater’s right-hand man Vic, had a blast filming his over-the-top death scene, where he chokes on his own blood. “That whole sequence is amazing,” Kravitz says with a laugh. “He wins the best death scene for sure. The extended bit with him on the couch is just hilarious. We weren’t sure if it would be funny or stupid, but he pulled it off, and that moment of comic relief was important.”
Blink Twice is now showing in theaters.
Latest new from Owl Fashion Shop