Spoilers are ahead for Blink Twice.
This article contains discussions of sexual assault and abuse.
Summary
- The lizard in the opening shot of
Blink Twice
hints at Frida’s past on Slater’s island, immediately revealing a major twist. - Frida’s encounter with Slater’s therapist subtly foreshadows the tech mogul’s dark intentions.
- The red flowers and repeated phrase “Red Rabbit” serve as important clues when it comes to unravelling the island’s sinister secrets.
Well before Blink Twice‘s big reveal, the psychological thriller hints at its twist, allowing eagle-eyed and perceptive viewers to clock the movie’s clever moments of foreshadowing. Helmed by Zoë Kravitz, Blink Twice is the filmmaker’s directorial debut, and Kravitz, who had a different title for Blink Twice, began working on the screenplay way back in 2017 with her High Fidelity co-writer E.T. Feigenbaum. The film opens with cocktail waitresses Frida (Naomi Ackie) and Jess (Alia Shawkat) ditching their work uniforms for dresses and heels in order to crash billionaire tech mogul Slater King’s (Channing Tatum) gala.
After an up-close run-in with Slater, Frida and Jess spend the evening mingling with his entourage. The movie’s opening scenes reveal that Slater was “canceled” for inappropriate behavior. Although Blink Twice never delves into what Slater did, it spends an awful lot of time suggesting that Slater has reformed his ways thanks to a copious amount of therapy — and, of course, the island paradise he purchased recently. Eventually, Frida and Jess join the other members of Blink Twice‘s cast of characters on Slater’s private island, where things take a truly harrowing turn in Blink Twice‘s ending.
7 Blink Twice’s Opening Shot Is A Lizard
The Reptile Teases That Frida Has Been To Slater’s Island Before
In its opening shot, Blink Twice teases a major part of its twist: Frida has been to Slater’s island before. Kravitz chooses to open the movie with a close-up of a reptile’s eye; the creature, which is undoubtedly native to a tropical island, stares at something off-screen. Without knowing it, viewers are shown a glimpse into Frida’s memory as she goes about her evening, though it’s meant to seem like part of her nightly social media scroll. As the scene continues, Frida flicks through her own Instagram feed, which is full of her nail artistry.
The incident is what gave Frida the noticeable scar on her head…
Of course, the lizard isn’t just a flash of inspiration. The aspiring nail artist and ever-exhausted cocktail waitress is briefly recalling a moment from her time on Slater’s island. It’s eventually revealed that Frida attended Slater’s haunting getaway the year before. While she was running through the island’s forest to escape Slater’s abuse, Frida slipped and fell on a rock. The incident is what gave Frida the noticeable scar on her head and, while she’s lying immobile on the forest floor, Frida stares into the blinking eyes of the lizard from the movie’s opening shot.
6 Frida & Jess’s Boss Says That Frida Has Met Slater Before
Blink Twice Suggests That Frida Got Too Cozy With Slater While Working
When a disgruntled Frida arrives at work a few minutes late, her boss shows up to reprimand her for her tardiness. As it turns out, the evening’s gig is Slater King’s annual gala — and Frida’s boss has another bone to pick. The year before, Frida, allegedly, acted a bit unprofessionally and ended up spending time with Slater. Blink Twice’s protagonist claims that Slater merely complimented her nails, but Frida’s boss insists that she needs to be more “invisible” at this year’s gala. Later, when it’s revealed that Frida went to Slater’s island before, it’s clear her boss wasn’t exaggerating.
5 Slater Snaps Off Frida’s Heel
The Moment Of Apparent Kindness Actually Foreshadows Slater King’s Violent Nature
At the gala, Frida surprises Jess with two dresses and two pairs of heels. The best friends ditch their cocktail waitress garb in favor of the party attire and sneak into the gala. While pretending to be Slater’s guest, Frida struggles to walk in her heels. Even though Jess lets her in on a secret to striding more successfully in the shoes, Frida breaks a heel. In the process, she knocks over glassware, falls to the ground, and cuts her finger. In an attempt to seem charming, Slater appears to help Frida.
…the moment actually teases the character’s extremely violent nature — a nature that’s simmering just beneath the surface.
With deadly precision, the tech mogul snaps off her other heel so that the shoes are both flat. Slater reveals that he’s seen the trick in movies and has always wanted to try it. While Frida is swept up by Slater’s seemingly charming routine, the moment actually teases the character’s extremely violent nature — a nature that’s simmering just beneath the surface. Later on, Slater kills a snake that’s bitten Jess with equal brutality and, horrifyingly, snaps Jess’s neck after the venom sinks in and restores her memories of Slater and the men’s abuse.
4 Slater’s Therapist Does Blink Twice
Kyle MacLachlan’s Character Slyly Confirms Slater’s Dark Intentions
At the gala, Frida has a run-in with Slater’s therapist, Rich (Kyle MacLachlan). Slater’s nervous body language isn’t the only thing that lends to the scene’s clear-cut foreshadowing. While Rich waxes poetic about Slater’s progress in therapy, Frida asks if she’s actually in any trouble, suggesting Slater’s therapist would know all of his deep, dark secrets. Playing along, Rich lowers his glasses and blinks twice. Slater interrupts the moment, but Frida takes it all as a big joke — completely unaware of the dangerous situation she’s about to enter.
3 Blink Twice Focuses Heavily On The Island’s Red Flowers
Slater Constantly Brings The Movie’s Perfume-Making Flowers To Frida
When Frida, Jess, and Slater’s entourage arrive at the island, Kravitz hammers home that the island’s red flowers are a key detail. Not only does the color red make a prominent appearance — the red gift bags, the red raspberries that float in the flutes of endless champagne — but the flowers themselves are everywhere. Slater shows Frida her room and, when she emerges from the bathroom, her clothes are laid out on the bed alongside a flower. At dinner, Slater is sure to present Frida with flowers time and again.
…it becomes clear that the flowers serve a much more sinister purpose.
Although Frida initially interprets the flowers as romantic gifts, it becomes clear that the flowers serve a much more sinister purpose. The perfume that Frida discovers in her private bathroom is made from the flowers. As it turns out, the perfume — and the scent of the flowers in general — is the key to making the women forget about the way Slater and the other men abuse and assault them nightly. Even some of the island’s food is infused with these memory-wiping flowers. It’s also revealed that the perfume is what’s handed out in Stacy’s (Geena Davis) gift bags.
2 The Housekeeper Repeats The Phrase “Red Rabbit” To Frida
Blink Twice’s Housekeeper Tries To Save Frida Several Times
While on the island, Frida notices that the workers all have the same snake tattoo. Slater claims that the snakes have infested the island, and that the workers are tasked with killing any that slither onto the property. One worker in particular, who’s appropriately named Badass Maid (María Elena Olivares), plays a key role in showing Frida what’s really going on. When Frida first encounters the maid, the woman repeats the phrase “Red Rabbit” over and over. She also purposefully leaves a bucket and some cleaning supplies behind in Frida’s room.
From the start, Badass Maid was trying to unlock Frida’s memories.
Of all the hints, Blink Twice‘s red rabbit clue is the most glaring, but it doesn’t make sense until Frida drinks the snake venom that Badass Maid offers her halfway through the film. As it turns out, the snake venom counteracts the flowers’ memory-wiping effects, allowing Frida to recall the horrific sexual abuse she and the other women have faced night after night. After tripping over the bucket, Frida discovers Polaroids taken the year before. Back then, Frida had longer hair and red rabbits painted on her nails. From the start, Badass Maid was trying to unlock Frida’s memories.
1 Slater King’s Artwork Contains Hints About Blink Twice’s Plot Twist
The Art Features Men Hunting Rabbits & Women Who Look Like Snakes
Interestingly enough, Slater King himself connects to many of Blink Twice‘s biggest hints. Not only does the tech mogul fixate on the idea that “forgetting is a gift” — a nod to the gift bags of memory-erasing perfume — but he directly asks Frida about how she got the scar on her head. Slater’s house is also decked out in artwork that’s extremely revealing. One painting shows a snake-like woman, writhing on the ground, while another portrays men chasing yellow rabbits. The art foreshadows the women’s need to drink the venom as well as Slater’s entourage’s predatory nature.
Blink Twice is playing in theaters worldwide.