Flash twice
Written by Zoë Kravitz and ET Feigenbaum
With Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Channing Tatum and Adria Arjona
Running time 1 hour, 42 minutes
Now in cinemas

by Megan Bailey, Editor

“Blink twice when I’m in danger!” says Frida (Naomi Ackie) when she meets someone at a party. And with a helpful warning about sexual violence at the beginning of the film, I had an idea what kind of danger awaited us. But the twists and turns kept me hooked throughout Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut.

The film begins with Frida scrolling through her phone and finding a video of Slater King (Channing Tatum) apologizing for his bad behavior. Her screen flickers by, so we don’t get a clear explanation of what antics he might have been up to, but we can pretty much guess. Soon after, Frida is working as a waitress at an event for King Tech, Slater’s tech company, and she comes up with a plan to dress up in a fancy evening gown and sneak in as an attendee along with her roommate and co-worker Jess (Alia Shawkat) to get closer to King. Frida and Slater hit it off, and before he leaves, he invites them both to his private island.

When they arrive, everyone present, including Sarah (Adria Arjona), Cody (Simon Rex), and Tom (Haley Joel Osment), hand over their phones. Matching white bikinis and dresses are laid out for them in each of the ladies’ bathrooms, and their great time on the island begins. Slowly but surely, things get darker. With constant champagne in hand and copious amounts of drugs, it takes a while for Frida and Jess to sense the bad vibes, but once they do, the film grabs you by the arm and pulls you through several twists and turns to an incredibly powerful ending.

Ackie’s portrayal of Frida is truly outstanding. Her character is tested in this film and Frida’s fear is palpable throughout the story. Kravitz’s frequent use of close-ups allows the viewer to feel exactly how Frida and the other characters are feeling. First there is joy, then an underlying tension, and finally we fall into outright fear with her. The close-ups also come in handy towards the end of the film. Channing Tatum’s expression when the facade falls is truly frightening, especially after we’ve seen him pretty lighthearted otherwise.

While “Pussy Island,” the original title of this film, would have given the audience a very accurate idea of ​​what happens in this film, I think the structure of Flash twice is a different perspective on the same scenario. There is a horror in Flash twice which doesn’t quite convey “Pussy Island,” at least not to the uninformed.

The film tackles many themes: cancel culture and the performative apologies of “problematic” characters, the role of men in the oppression of women, female rage, and so on. It’s not exactly subtle, but the film delivers on the exploration of all of these themes. Kravitz lays out exactly how we can overthrow the shitty system we currently live in (which I won’t give too much away about so as not to give anything away).

The sound design of this film is remarkably strong. The sound of flies and various jungle noises accompany most of the scenes outside. Camera flashes are frequent throughout the film and the sound is jarring when it comes out of nowhere. Likewise, most of the music is diegetic, playing in the world of the film and disappearing when the characters turn it off or exit a vehicle.

This film doesn’t end neatly and tidily. However, I think Kravitz and Feigenbaum made a bold choice with the ending and the flick sticks the landing. We see just enough to put the pieces together and viewers have a lot to digest when they leave the theater. I want to know exactly how these characters got to that ending, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the film because it didn’t show it to me. It’s a bold move and I applaud it.

I feel like this film is criticized for putting style over substance, but there’s a lot of substance here to get into. It’s certainly stylish, but I’m already interested in rewatching it to understand the dynamics between the characters that aren’t entirely clear on the first pass. Likewise, I’ve already seen posts about the film’s trigger warning, and frankly, I find it boring to still be complaining about trigger warnings in 2024. If you don’t need them, that’s great, but there’s no reason to begrudge them like many people do. Given the explicitness of this film, I applaud Kravitz for including it in the film itself, and Amazon MGM Studios for putting the trigger warning online so audiences know what they’re getting into.