Twisted Ending of Zoë Kravitz’s ‘Blink Twice,’ Starring Channing Tatum

• Zoë Kravitz’s psychological thriller “Blink Twice” stars Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum.
• The film takes place on a private island where strange things happen.
• Here’s what to know about the movie’s action-filled ending.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for “Blink Twice.”

“Blink Twice,” a new psychological thriller cowritten and directed by Zoë Kravitz, is packed with twists and turns.

Kravitz’s directorial debut stars Naomi Ackie as Frida, a cocktail waitress and aspiring nail artist in desperate need of a vacation. She meets tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) while working at a lavish gala for his company, King-Tech. Frida charms her way into a trip to his private island with her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat).

Phones are swiftly surrendered, and Frida loses track of the days as she falls into a cycle of drinking, smoking, doing drugs, and partying with Slater and his entourage.

It doesn’t take long before Frida starts noticing unsettling peculiarities, like unexplained dirt under her fingernails and a maid killing the island’s venomous snakes.

Once Frida pieces together the sinister activities really happening on the island, the action kicks into high gear.

Here’s a breakdown of the film’s climax and satisfying ending.

Slater initially comes across as a charming billionaire who credits therapy with changing his life. But his sadistic behavior becomes clearer later in the movie.

After Jess gets bitten by a viper one night, she decides she’s had enough of the island. But Frida has no desire to leave because, for the first time in her life, she’s not invisible. The next day, Frida begins her routine: spraying herself with a perfume made from a red desideria flower found only on the island, getting dressed in the same white outfit, and joining the group for another day of relaxation.

When a maid gives Frida a green liquid to drink that’s actually snake venom, she starts to regain fragments of memories. Another guest, Sarah (Adria Arjona), confides in Frida, sharing her suspicions about the island and the lack of memory among the women.

Frida and Sarah realize the perfume is erasing the women’s memories, and snake venom is the key to remembering. To help the other women regain their memories without raising suspicion, Frida and Sarah give them tequila shots mixed with venom. Stacey (Geena Davis), Slater’s scatterbrained assistant, joins them as well.

Frida regains more memories and learns that Jess was murdered by the men because the snake bite prevented her from forgetting. Furthermore, Frida and the other women have been subjected to various degrees of sexual violence by Slater and the other men every night.

In a flashback, Slater’s trauma therapist, Rich (Kyle MacLachlan), marvels at how Frida won’t remember any of the horrific events. The more traumatic the experience, the less Frida remembers, Slater explains.

In the present, Slater notices the women acting strangely at dinner, so Frida and Sarah start a dance party to create a distraction. The action intensifies as Camilla (Liz Caribe) and Heather (Trew Mullen) regain their memories. Camilla kills Tom (Haley Joel Osment) and Heather attacks Vic (Christian Slater) with a chessboard. Stan (Cris Costa), Slater’s security guard, shoots Heather and chases Frida into the woods. Just as Stan is about to shoot Frida, Sarah kills him with a rock. Slater then murders Camilla by stepping on her neck.

Stacey, angry at Frida for making her remember, attempts to kill her, but Frida kills Stacey in self-defense. Sarah shoots Cody (Simon Rex) dead.

Among Slater’s collection of photos of past guests, Frida finds a Polaroid of herself with a different haircut, revealing she had already been to the island once before, with her memories wiped.

Frida and Sarah then head towards Slater’s compound, armed with a knife and a gun. As they enter, Sarah kills Lucas (Levon Hawke). During a struggle with Slater, Frida recalls more memories, including the incident that gave her the scar on her face during her previous visit to the island.

Slater ties up Frida and tells her that there’s no such thing as forgiveness, only forgetting, and that Frida is excellent at forgetting. He hints that people would be better off freed from their memories.

Slater also implies a traumatic childhood event involving him and his sister being molested, which he mentions earlier.

Sarah’s entrance interrupts Slater, and he chases her. He drags her back into the room, but Frida has managed to lace his vape with the memory-erasing perfume. Disoriented, Slater knocks over candles, starting a fire. Frida and Sarah pull Slater out before the flames fully engulf the building.

“I need a vacation,” Frida tells Sarah.

Frida, Sarah, and Slater are the only survivors. In the aftermath, Frida’s life changes dramatically, and she successfully climbs the social ladder.

The film concludes with another King-Tech gala, seemingly a year later. Rich approaches Slater to continue their discussions, but Slater looks confused. Frida, now married to Slater and sporting a longer haircut, interjects, saying they’ll be in Beijing next week.

Frida hands Slater his vape liquid, likely containing the memory-erasing substance, and tells him to eat his steak, a callback to earlier when Slater mentioned he doesn’t eat red meat.

Now, Frida appears to be in control, using the vape to manipulate Slater’s memories. The man onstage refers to her as Frida King, the CEO of King-Tech, and the crowd applauds, ending with Frida getting her Champagne glass refilled by a cocktail waitress.

The final sequence drives home the film’s exploration of power and the dynamics between men and women.

The last scene is a full circle moment for Frida, who’s no longer invisible. She’s now in a powerful position and isn’t subservient to a man.

“I wanted to see a story that explored what might happen if women stop playing by the rules,” Kravitz wrote in a statement included in the production notes for “Blink Twice.”

Kravitz, who grew up in Hollywood thanks to her parents Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, said that she’s seen, experienced, and heard about things that inspired her to make a film about the dynamics between men and women. The movie isn’t about any particular person.

“This is about people,” she wrote. “Women are being told to smile, every day, all the time. We are expected to ‘forget’ moments of discomfort, terror, and abuse and to keep pretending we are having a good time. We are expected to play the game.”

The movie ends on a well-deserved note for Frida, who’s fully in control and calling all the shots while Slater has become her head-empty puppet.

“This is not a story about empowerment,” Kravitz said. “This is a story about power.”

“Blink Twice” is in theaters now.

Source: Business Insider