Christopher Landon‘s Drop is one of those films that knows what it is and wants the audience to have fun. While the modern-day technological thriller uses Hitchockian style to deliver twists and turns, it’s a surprisingly sharp tale about survivors of domestic abuse trying to find a sense of normalcy after dealing with traumatizing events.
Drop centers on Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed mother of one, who helps victims of abuse regain control of their lives. Her therapy is effective, as she knows from experience as she is a survivor of abuse herself. To regain control of her life, she goes on a date that she found on an app. It’s the first date she has been on since what happened, and as such, she is very nervous about a guy who agreed to meet someone with so much baggage. But with the help of her sister (Violett Beane), Violet can go on the date with confidence and that her son will be safe.
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Violet meets Henry (Brandon Sklenar) at a fancy Chicago high-rise restaurant with a beautiful view of the entire city. Although, he is running a little bit late. So, as one person does while waiting for their date, Violet grabs a drink to calm the nerves. She does a little socializing with the bartender Cara (Gabrielle Ryan), a revolting pianist named Phil (Ed Weeks), and Richard (Reed Diamond) – another single man who is on a blind date. When Henry finally does arrive, things start to unravel.
Violet starts getting random memes via Digidrop (the film’s version of an airdrop). At first, she thinks they are harmless pranks. She doesn’t know who is sending them, but Henry informs her that Digidrops can only be sent within a 50-foot radius. However, Bear McCreary‘s score tells us otherwise. Each new drop escalates its intensity – along with the telling music cues. Soon enough, the person sending them tells Violet that there is a man with a gun in her home.
As one might expect, Violet starts to take these drops seriously. That’s when the game begins with the person making demands that target Henry, and if she doesn’t comply, the man with the gun in her home will kill her son and sister.
Of course, a thriller like this hinges on us believing that Violet and her family are in danger. And Fahy does more than a convincingly good job doing that. Violet cannot tell anyone about what’s happening, nor is she allowed to leave and let Harry leave the restaurant. Moreover, cameras are almost everywhere, allowing this person to monitor her movements. In a way, Violet is re-living her worst nightmare – being trapped in an abusive relationship.
Harry is patient, though. He understands why Violet may be a bit distracted by her phone as she is concerned about her family’s safety. But what looks like Violet is checking in on her son, who is also receiving new instructions. Instructions that involve killing Harry. Unwilling to go through with it, Violet figures out ways to prolong this ordeal and keep the date going while narrowing down her list of suspects.
Drop doesn’t portray Violet as a damsel in distress that needs to be saved by Prince Charming. Instead, the thriller sees her as the hero who takes matters into her own hands but is also vulnerable because her mysterious assailant takes advantage of her past traumas and her family. Though we may be aware of what’s going on as she tries to mask the tears in her eyes and the weakness in her voice with a smile, Fahy convinces us that it is nothing more than her being nervous about the first date.
While Violet may seem like she is being abused via digital drops, she refuses to be pushed around and starts to take control of the situation through careful orchestration. Her actions are calculated, but she never reveals her true motives. Meanwhile, we are left trying to figure out who is targeting Violet. There are plenty of suspects within the restaurants, and writers Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach provide plenty of misdirections to keep the twists and turns coming. Just when you think it’s one person, whether a restaurant patron, bartender, pianist, manager, or server, it’s someone else. And there’s no way it will be the high school kids celebrating prom. But the film has us constantly guessing because the rest of the cast plays their roles so well.
Though Drop has an absurd premise, Ladon puts the humor that we can find in films like the Happy Death Day franchise aside to tell a romance story. Sklenar is very charming. His performance lets us drop our guard and hang on to every word he says. He has quite a story to tell as the mayor’s official photographer, but he doesn’t reveal too much about the mayor’s integrity. His patience and ability to read Violet make him the perfect date, and he makes the audience hope that he survives the night.
Despite its absurd technological premise, Drop has our heads spinning with its well-crafted paranoia, dizzying set pieces, and plot twists. The way that Landon connects Violet’s past trauma and the new threats she faces is clever, as Violet was left trapped in an abusive relationship she could not get out of back then, and her captor has her revisiting that trauma once more by holding her son hostage. Those past traumas reveal Violet’s strength as a survivor and how she refuses to be manipulated ever again.
Drop has plenty of setups to keep that paranoia going, and it has an entertaining payoff that audiences can be happy with. The thing that works is that it embraces its plot, no matter how crazy it is. Ladon has been hooked from the very start, giving us characters in which we can be emotionally invested. While we want Violet to survive the ordeal, we also want the date to go well. So, creating that kind of tension and romance in a one-hour and 40-minute film is no easy feat, but it is sure as hell entertaining to watch.
Drop opens in theaters on April 11, 2025
