Warning: this article contains discussion of sexual assault that some may find upsetting. With roles in TV shows such as Big Little Lies and High Fidelity and films such as Kimi and The Batman , Zoë Kravitz had already established herself as one of Hollywood's most exciting stars – and now she's proved she's more than capable as a director as well. Her first film behind the camera is the twisted satire Blink Twice – originally titled P***y Island – which has now arrived in UK cinemas on the back of mainly positive reviews, and looks set to go down a treat with audiences.
It stars I Wanna Dance With Somebody's Naomi Ackie as Frida, a waitress who is invited along with her friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) to the private island of Slater King (Channing Tatum) – a tech billionaire in the process of undergoing a public rehabilitation following an unnamed transgression. From the outset, a few things seem a bit strange about life on the island: for example, everyone is instructed to hand in their phones when they arrive, and soon the days all seem to blend together for Frida, Jess and their her fellow guests – who include three other young women. To begin with, Frida is happy to wave away her concerns on the grounds that they are living a life of luxury, but soon a revelation comes to light which means she can no longer ignore that something is off.
If you've seen the film and need a recap of what went down, read on to have the Blink Twice ending explained. Warning: full spoilers for Blink Twice. Blink Twice ending explained: How does Frida get revenge? Frida had already begun to suspect that something was not quite right on Slater's island – but things really come to a head when Jess appears to vanish without a trace.
With her friend gone, she is no longer able to turn a blind eye. What's especially worrying to Frida isn't so much the disappearance in itself – already cause for significant concern – but the fact that no one else seems to remember Jess having ever been there at all. Slater and his pals deny her existence, the other women on the island claim no knowledge, and the room that Jess had until then been staying in has been transformed into a storage facility.
For a time, Frida appears to be acting completely alone, but eventually she finds an ally in Sarah (Adria Arjona), who discovers a lighter bearing Jess's name and has her memory re-jogged. It turns out that, just like Frida, she has found various wounds on her body that she has no recollection of getting, and has also begun to feel that something is a little off about this whole thing. Gradually, the pair begin to piece things together: during the hedonistic drug binges Slater has been overseeing, all the girls have been spiked using a flower endemic to the island that makes them lose their memories, and while they've been experiencing blackouts the men have carried out all manner of horrific sexual assaults.
(The flower, crucially, has also been used in the perfume they've been provided with). Jess had been on to them – not forgetting the ordeal as Slater had planned – and had subsequently been killed as a result. Frida has realised that consuming the venom of a species of snake endemic to the island lets her remember the traumatic events (Jess has earlier been bitten by a snake, explaining how she had been able to remember), and together with Sarah concocts a plan for the rest of the women to consume some of the venom by mixing it with shots.
And so, the memory comes back for the rest of them, and a thoroughly justified revenge plan is set in motion. Amongst all this, Frida also finds a stash of photographs that contain one of the most chilling pieces of information yet: she has been on the island before and has no recollection of it. This awakens another suppressed memory, and suddenly various things make a lot more sense.
For example, the reason one of the island's staff kept saying the words "red rabbit" to Frida is because she's trying to remind her – she had had red rabbits painted on her nails on the last visit. Anyway, with the women now awake to their terrifying situation, they waste no time in mounting an attack, and soon several of the men (and Slater's assistant, played by Geena Davis) have met brutal – but very satisfying – ends; some stabbed, others having their heads bashed in with a rock. Despite making some solid progress, it's not plain-sailing for the group, and it unfortunately looks like Slater has the upper hand when he corners Frida and is preparing to end things once and for all.
But then – just as he is preparing to strike – he appears to suddenly become very confused and completely forgets what is going on. A close-up on a bottle of perfume reveals what has happened: Frida has quite literally given him a taste of his own medicine by – through his vape – administering the same substance to him that he had been using on all the women. And suddenly she is the one in control .
Before the film ends, Kravitz has one more twist for us. The film ends at a similar super-rich function as it had begun, and surprisingly we see that Slater is not only still alive, but also seemingly still in a position of power – and in a relationship with Frida. Except, it's not quite what it seems: it's revealed that Frida is now controlling him using the substances and blackmail, and has used his wealth and influence to launch her own career as a mogul .
And so her revenge is complete. Sign up to get alerts for movie news, reviews and recommendations By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy . You can unsubscribe at any time.
Blink Twice is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast .
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