Blink Twice Trailer Reveals Zoë Kravitz's Directorial Debut (& Everyone Is Dead)

In what will surely come as a huge shock to the general public and cause no small number of monocles to pop out, Amazon MGM Studios has elected to retitle Zoë Kravitz's feature directing debut, which was previously going under the not-at-all provocative moniker "Pussy Island." (I'm still waiting for Disney and Searchlight Pictures to chicken out and rename their upcoming Amy Adams-led horror-comedy "Nightbitch" any day now, but perhaps they'll surprise me.) Kravitz's film will instead be released as "Blink Twice," which for me conjures memories of David Tennant's 10th Doctor desperately warning Carey Mulligan not to blink around the Weeping Angels in the classic modern "Doctor Who" episode "Blink."

That association isn't entirely inappropriate, either. "Blink Twice," like "Blink," is a potpourri of horror, mystery-thriller, and humor with an English actor at its core. In this case, it's Naomi Ackie of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and "Master of None" season 3 fame starring as a young woman who accompanies a tech billionaire — played by Kravitz's current real-life significant other, Channing Tatum — to a getaway on his private island. Is vacationing with one of Elon Musk's peers on his answer to Pleasure Island from "Pinocchio" a terrible idea that you should never ever do in real life? Absolutely, but there wouldn't be a movie if Ackie's character didn't ignore all those obvious red flags and tell herself that it's just a bit of harmless fun. (Spoiler: It is not.)

You can check out the trailer for "Blink Twice" above.

Is 2024 the year of original thrillers that reveal the dark side of middle-aged heartthrobs? First, we got a small taste of Josh Hartnett as a Dad Joke-cracking (presumed) serial killer in the trailer for M. Night Shyamalan's "Trap," and now the "Blink Twice" promo offers a sneak peek at Tatum as a bearded tech-bro who may well have some literal skeletons hanging in his closet. It's not often that C-Tates gets to play a hunk with some real darkness behind their dazzling smile, which only makes the prospect of him breaking bad in Kravitz's film all the more enticing.

In addition to directing, Kravitz also co-wrote the script for "Blink Twice" with E.T. Feigenbaum, whom she previously collaborated with on Hulu's short-lived but excellent "High Fidelity" TV series. Meanwhile, Ackie and Tatum are joined by a supporting cast that includes Alia Shawkat, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, and the great Geena Davis.

"Blink Twice" will open in theaters on August 23, 2024. Its official synopsis reads as follows:

When tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It's paradise. Wild nights blend into sun soaked days and everyone's having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She'll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive.