Rarely is Channing Tatum anyone but the good guy on the big screen. From Magic Mike to White House Down and 21 Jump Street, he’s almost always someone the audience is meant to root for or come along on an adventure with. Zoë Kravitz is using that to her advantage in her directorial debut, Blink Twice, however, casting Tatum as the horror villain who makes Naomi Ackie‘s life a living hell. A new poster for the film shows just how creepy he can be, as he holds up a Polaroid camera to capture the moment of utmost terror on the Lady Macbeth star’s face.
Blink Twice, formerly announced under the title Pussy Island, follows Frida (Ackie), a cocktail waitress at the fundraising gala for tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum) who is pulled into his orbit after they hit it off. Thus begins a whirlwind romance in which she meets his friends and is whisked off to a dream vacation on his private island full of wild parties and sunny days in paradise. What seems like a fantasy that neither wants to end slowly warps into a nightmare as Frida begins to notice some strange occurrences on the island. It becomes a race against time for her to uncover the truth before she winds up dead, as the chilling side of the rich nice guy is laid bare.
The poster frames Tatum‘s billionaire as a controlling and voyeuristic mastermind with sinister intentions for the latest victim he’s lured to his island. Kravitz appropriately keeps the mystery surrounding the man and his plans under lock and key to keep viewers guessing in the lead-up to the film’s release. However, she has previously delved into why Tatum was her choice for such a role, citing his willingness to explore a toxic male figure that differs from his own mindset as well as the perception of him as the “boy next door” and “love interest” to show that even such a seemingly innocent facade can hide darkness. A star-studded supporting cast around him and the BAFTA TV Award-winning Ackie will give the pair plenty of talent to play off of, with Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat all on board.
‘Blink Twice’ Will Fully Embrace Its R Rating
Co-written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum, Blink Twice will be leaning heavily into its darkest themes, as it received an R rating for “strong violent content, sexual assault, drug use and language throughout, and some sexual references.” It’s going to get uncomfortable as it explores the depths of Slater King’s depravity behind closed doors through the eyes of his victims. In a previous discussion with Entertainment Weekly, Tatum emphasized how it even made him squeamish to play such an unsavory character due to his creepy actions with women, like Ackie‘s Frida. He further expressed hope that Kravitz‘s debut will be a conversation starter above all else, as many of the issues addressed, while troubling, are meant to be discussed.
“I play someone a little darker than I’ve ever played. 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.”
Blink Twice premieres in theaters on August 23.
via Collider