Photo: Amazon MGM Studios/Everett Collection

From one filmmaker to another, Taylor Swift gives one of her best friends, Zoë Kravitz, the highest praise for her directorial debut. Flash twiceis out this weekend. Swift isn’t the only member of her inner circle supporting the project, though; Kravitz’s fiancé Channing Tatum stars in the film, making it a family affair. Or at least a reunion with matching T-shirts. While we eagerly wait for her father to walk the red carpet in a scarf, the reviews are in and people are comparing the films closely. Flash twice To Exit And Promising young woman. The film is about a young woman (Naomi Ackie) who is invited by a billionaire (Tatum) to his private island, where all is not as it seems. Here’s what critics thought of Kravitz’s social thriller, including Professor Swift’s full review.

“In Flash twice — previously and richly titled Pussy Island — I was curious about star Channing Tatum’s heel turn. Here, Hollywood’s favorite affable himbo decided to play a dangerous billionaire tech bro capable of luring young women into his trap, overturning his image as a good-natured golden retriever of a man, strengthened and refined by the Magic Mike Films that portrayed him as very interested in female pleasure. When it came to actress turned screenwriter and director (and also Tatum’s romantic partner), Zoë Kravitz, I had enjoyed her as a red carpet model with sharp cheekbones and an aura so relaxed that she seemed disillusioned. After she The Batman (2022) and played the agoraphobic in Steven Soderbergh’s thrilling Kimi (2022), I also became intrigued by her potential as a storyteller who could do more than create a seductive but thinly drawn mood. But when I heard she would be directing Flash twice (co-written by Kravitz and ET Feigenbaum), A question immediately came to mind: Can a woman like her—who grew up in a level of affluence and visibility denied to most black girls thanks to her ultra-cool parents, actress Lisa Bonet and musician Lenny Kravitz—seriously critique the intersections of wealth, misogyny, and control that the Eat the Rich premise promises?”—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture

“This film is incredible. Suspenseful, twisted, hilariously funny, and visually stunning. The performances are phenomenal. @zoeisabellakravitz conceived it, wrote it, paid attention to every detail, and directed it with such a clear and bold vision. I am so blown away by what she has done here and I can’t wait to see everyone discover this film and this brilliant filmmaker,” – Taylor Swift, Eras Tour

“Flash twice falters when the emotional terror of Frida’s situation gives way to superficial horror-movie thrills. The film suggests that Frida’s malaise stems from a cocktail of horrific societal truths: Her gender and profession make her an easy target, Slater’s wealth and gang of yes-men protect him from taking full responsibility for his mistakes, and women have long been conditioned to rationalize threatening behavior in a twisted form of self-defense. But although Kravitz stages some impressively gory scenes in the film’s final acts, the violence feels rushed. The screenplay, by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum, is overloaded with too many subplots in which superficially drawn characters are played by actors who deserved much meatier roles, including Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan and Geena Davis. As a result, these earlier, sharper observations about Frida’s plight are not sufficiently mature by the end of the story.” – Shirley Li, The Atlantic

“Blink twice, under the striking direction of Zoë Kravitz (who is engaged to Tatum) can best be described as a feminist Exit. It’s a wild, strange horror ride that borders on fairytale nightmare and maybe even biblical allegory (the island is home to a serpent who, like Satan in the Garden of Eden, can turn paradise into hell).” — Tom Gliatto, People

“Flash twice clearly thinks about the danger that men can pose and how women are forced to feign happiness in the company of such predators, but it never offers more than a superficial understanding of this dynamic. You hope the film digs deeper, and by the time you realize it doesn’t, you’ve arrived at the obligatory unleashing of Girl Boss revenge, which ultimately offers neither satisfying catharsis nor meaningful satire.” — Ross McIndoe, Slant Magazine

“The Procedure is one of the many reasons why Kravitz’s clever, savvy and nerve-racking thriller is likely to Exitand while Jordan Peele’s instant classic had an overwhelming influence on socially informed scary movies, he left a particularly deep impression on this satirical, highly disturbing tale of “safe” places that are anything but. Few films have exploited the earlier film’s structure as well — and, more importantly, channeled its mood as astutely — as this reckoning with toxic masculinity in sheep’s clothing. And you’ll get the same feeling watching an actor-turned-director hit a difficult note in his first outing with such confidence and panache. Kravitz knows exactly how to set it up. And exactly how to blow your mind.” — David Fear, Rolling Stone

“Flash twice is a big step for (Tatum) as an actor and an even bigger one for Kravitz, his partner, as director and co-writer of this stylish, ambitious, exciting film that seems to be a gender-bending issue Exitor a thriller from the #MeToo era with echoes of Promising young woman. And Kravitz almost pulls it off. With the help of a great cast, she offers strikingly confident, cheekily entertaining cinematography until it all seems to collapse in a mess of porous storytelling. The problem isn’t the sudden intrusion of blood – this is a horror film, sure. It’s the sudden disappearance of logic. You might not be able to turn away – but unlike the aforementioned Jordan Peele or Emerald Fennell films, you won’t necessarily be able to explain what you saw either.” – Jocelyn Noveck, AP

“For her directorial debut Blink Twice, actress and reluctantly nicknamed Nepo-Baby Zoë Kravitz has come to the table with a plate stacked dangerously high. It’s a sharp, topical thriller that sits in a Venn diagram between the many recent “Eat the Rich” satires (a subgenre that has taken us from the heady heights of Triangle of Sadness to the slack depths of Saltburn) and the post-Exit #MeToo-influenced social thrillers (from the overrated Promising young woman to the undervalued Fresh). It’s also about that favorite buzzword in contemporary horror, “trauma,” and it’s also inspired by Jeffrey Epstein and his private island. It’s about misogyny and abuse and memory and materialism and gender representation and lots of other things that would be a spoiler to mention. It’s less a plate, then, than a buffet, and while it may be beautifully presented, it’s a film about excess that also suffers from it, a case of too much leaving us with too little.” — Benjamin Lee, The Guardian

“Flash twice proves that Zoë Kravitz is not just an obsessive cinephile, but a real sponge. She has obviously honed techniques from the films she loves and has finally reached a point where she feels confident in creating something of her own. But while it is certainly entertaining, Flash twice still feels like the film of an obsessive cinephile, a debut that is transparent in its collage – an experiment in drawing from what works and what doesn’t in the films the director has seen before. Its greatest weakness is that it doesn’t seem as though Kravitz is adding anything of herself to the film, just hinting at her taste. But it’s also obvious that Flash twice comes from a position of ambition that somewhat defies the modern mainstream. Flash twice is undeniably a palate cleanser when compared to the abundance of sexless sequels, romance novel adaptations and boring, repetitive franchise installments. Even if it simply draws inspiration from better films, Flash twice uses these touchstones to create something engaging and original. At the very least, it’s an exciting first step for a director who has the chops to do something better.” — Brianna Zigler, AV Club