Rod Blackhurst and Noah Lang are the dynamic duo behind the film Blood for Dust, starring Kit Harington, Scooty McNairy, and Josh Lucas. These filmmakers share why leading with honesty, openness, and enthusiasm is the key to building strong relationships and creating successful films. You don’t have to be cutthroat in this industry in order to achieve your filmmaking dreams.
In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins speaks with director Rod Blackhurst and producer Noah Lang to discuss:
How Rod and Noah began working together
Why you should lead with honesty and enthusiasm
Making movies with the same people over and over again
Understanding what you have agency over in your career
How Scoot McNairy and Kit Harington came onto the project
How meeting David Gordon Green in 2012 eventually led to the making of Blood for Dust
The power of self-awareness and being a kind filmmaker
The vibe on set - having fun amid stress
What it looks like to make an honest living in filmmaking
An interesting movie from last year that I just caught up with was Zoe Kravitz's horror thriller Blink Twice. It's a twisty movie about going to a billionaire's island and suddenly losing memories of who was there with you and what was happening.
The movie stars Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat.
There are a lot of plot twists in this movie, and the ending was fairly shocking, so I thought we should explain that to you today.
Let's dive in.
Blink Twice Plot Summary
The movie Blink Twice follows a group of women, led by Frida and Jess, are invited to a private island by a charismatic tech billionaire named Slater.
When they first get to the island, everything feels like a luxurious getaway. It's basically paradise.
But Jess has her reservations. She seems to think something is going on, but Frida tells her she feels like she really fits here, and doesn't want to leave at all.
So the duo sticks it out, even as things get weirder.
Some of the staff on the island seem to recognize Frida. And they even call her the "red rabbit," but she has no idea why.
As the vacation continues, strange things begin to happen and the trip takes a dark turn. It feels like memories are fading away, and no one is quite sure who actually came down to the island with them.
The next morning, when Frida wakes up, Jess is gone, and no one can remember her even being there.
Even though Frida finds Jess's lighter, she still can't convince other people that Jess is there or missing. But some of the other women begin to have strange violent memories popping up.
The women begin to suspect there's something more going on here, so they try to get their confiscated phones to escape the island, but none of the phones work.
Inside Slater's office, they find photos of other women who visited the island in the past. They realize that the gift bags they got upon arrival have perfume in it that wipes their memories and that each night the women are being violently raped.
Jess was killed because the perfume didn't work on her, since she was on an antivenom serum after being bit by a snake on one of their earlier tropical excursions.
So, what happens at the end?
Blink Twice Ending Explained
Led by Frida the women fight back, seeking revenge against their abusers.
We get a reveal that Frida was on the island just a year before all of this, was that she was raped and assaulted by Slater. In that excursion, she actually bit off Vic's pinky finger before her memories were wiped.
And now she remembers all this and understands why the staff remembers her.
There is an all-out fight between the men and women left. The resort catches on fire and the whole place burns.
The film culminates in a complex and ambiguous ending where Frida, instead of killing Slater, uses his own amnesia perfume on him via his vape, erasing his memory of the crimes he's committed and what happened on that island. Frida and Sarah manage to escape the island and save Slater.
Then in a very unexpected twist, Frida then marries Slater and takes over his company, keeping him in a drugged and compliant state.
She can now control him and has access to all his money and power -- and she can keep fitting in with all the rich people.
This ending leaves the audience questioning whether Frida's actions represent her empowerment in winning this battle with Slater.
Or has she seen that having all that money corrupts you, and leaned into that fact?
Thematically, this is about the cycle of abuse and power and can be interpreted in many different ways.
Summing Up The 'Blink Twice' Ending Explained
That was one of the darker and crazier movies I saw this year. I wish I got to see it in theaters to hear people's reactions. I feel like you can take the ending in so many different directions, but I like how Frida has stepped into her own power.
You can see this as a harbinger of doom or justify that she's finally getting the ultimate payback, stealing her life back from him.
