Podcasts

Podcast: ‘Blink Twice’ Gets Uncertified

September 7th, 2024 | By Matthew Monagle

Let’s be honest: there are a lot easier films to get made than a pseudo-exploitation film intended for a mass-market audience. Then again, if you’re Zoë Kravitz, Blink Twice appears to be exactly the kind of project you put all your industry chips on. In this episode of Certified Forgotten’s Uncertified series, Matt Donato and Matt Monagle discuss what does and doesn’t work about Blink Twice, and why the film is such an interesting exercise in a very specific type of controversial horror.

When we meet cocktail waitress Frida (Naomi Ackie), she is on the toilet in her small New York apartment, scrolling through the lifestyles of the rich and famous. So when a not-so-chance encounter with billionaire startup CEO Slater King (Channing Tatum) has Frida and her roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat) spending a weekend on a private island, all her dreams appear to be coming true. But the longer Frida stays, the more she forgets — and what she can’t remember might just be a matter of life and death. The debut film from actor and director Kravitz, Blink Twice is an unexpected dose of exploitation cinema for the masses.

In this short excerpt from the episode, Matt Monagle explains why Ackie and Adria Arjona are impossible not to enjoy onscreen:

“You’re doing this really nice calibrated balance of ‘too much’ and ‘just enough’ at the same time, which is my favorite kind of acting. It’s easy to be cool on screen; it’s tough to be goofy on screen and still be cool. And I think that both Ackie and Arjona are nailing that particular vibe.”

The Alien: Romulus episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the podcast platform of your choice.