Here’s our review for “Drop,” a surprisingly tense thriller that leans on great performances and some well-orchestrated twists and turns to deliver a really fun film…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
How much shit would you take to go on a first date with Meghann Fahy?
OK that’s a joke but effectively the premise for the new movie “Drop” that opened this past weekend with “The White Lotus” star leading the cast as a single mother jumping back into the dating pool after she escaped an abusive relationship that left her scarred and terrified of taking that leap again.
Christopher Landon — best known for his work on horror-comedies like “Happy Death Day” and “Freaky” — directs this feature with a script from Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach. The film was made for around $11 million, which is actually pretty astonishing considering how good this movie looks even down to the effects that make it look like they had a lot more money to work with on this one.
As previously mentioned, “Drop” centers around a single mom named Violet who has finally decided to take a chance on love again after she was involved in a horrifically abusive relationship. She spends months connecting with a guy named Henry (played by dashing “1923” star Brandon Sklenar) over a dating app before finally agreeing to meet him in person.
Upon arrival, Violet’s nerves nearly get the better of her because she seems ready to flee before her date even gets there but she’s put at ease when Henry shows up, looks just like his photos and seems like a genuinely nice guy. But that’s the least of her worries after Violet starts getting a series of “drops” — random messages sent to her phone from someone nearby — that start out kind of annoying but then escalate with personal information about her and her family. When the messages turn threatening by telling Violet to check her home security cameras, which reveal a ski mask wearing intruder holding a gun, she’s ready to jump out of her skin.
Through it all, Violet is told repeatedly not to let on what’s happening to her date before the ominous messages eventually instruct her to kill Henry or her son dies. Now that’s quite the conundrum considering Violet most definitely isn’t a killer but she also just met this guy and it seems pretty clear that somebody is inside her home and ready to execute her son if she doesn’t follow orders.
What follows is an exercise in tension as Violet’s worst fears are realized every single time she tries to outsmart her tormentor. Her behavior is so erratic that Henry seems ready to end this date because in his eyes, Violet just isn’t ready for this kind of situation after dancing around her past but he figures out that she must have gone through an emotionally destructive relationship to end up here.
But Violet can’t possibly let Henry leave because his exit means her son is dead so she’s forced to make every excuse in the book to keep him around while secretly plotting to kill him.
The best part about “Drop” is that it’s an effective thriller that primarily takes place in two locations — the first, a rooftop restaurant where Violet and Henry meet and then Violet’s suburban home where her sister is babysitting her young son Toby. While the lead characters aren’t totally isolated — they’re in a crowded restaurant after all — the way that Violet is tortured with these repeated messages proving that the person behind all this is very much in control really puts her under the spotlight and feeling like she’s all alone.
Because Violet can only read and react to these messages rather than talking over the phone, Fahy has to rely on a lot of physical acting to get her point across and she does it to tremendous effect. Fahy absolutely shined as one of the biggest breakouts from “The White Lotus” season 2 but here she’s even better — and perhaps more importantly believable as a loving mom who is just trying to get herself back out there again after an abusive ex left her vulnerable, scared and petrified to ever attempt dating again.
While Fahy is definitely leading her, Sklenar continues to add to his growing resume of roles where he’s both charming and dashing in equal parts. Perhaps one of the biggest complaints about “Drop” is that as Violet is forced to carry out these demands — and as a result she acts more erratically while carrying out this deadly mission — there’s no way her date would bother to stick around through all this.
It’s an understandable criticism but one of the strongest parts of this film from script to performance is Henry’s genuine concern for Violet after getting to know her these past few months through chatting over this dating app. It seems like these two spoke quite a bit and that’s really the only reason that Violet finally felt comfortable enough to even consider this first date and Henry is the picture of patience throughout.
As Violet opens up even more while her behavior grows increasingly bizarre, Henry starts picking up on the cues that something is off and it’s not just her nervousness about being out with him.
And truth be told, these same concerns could be raised about 95 percent of the greatest horror films out there. That’s exactly what made “Scream” such a great commentary on horror tropes — why aren’t you running out the front door instead of up the stairs???
But this film doesn’t linger too much on these questionable moments because this a fast-paced and lean script that doesn’t add on any extra fat to bloat this movie. Instead, this film moves briskly while constantly ratcheting up the tension and presenting just enough mystery keep you guessing.
No one’s jaw is going to fall to the floor with some kind of Keyser Soze level reveal but Landon and company do a good job of keeping the focus on our two main characters, peppering in a few interesting supporting pieces and then developing a strong yet believable story centered around technology working against us without completely breaking the fabric of reality.
“Drop” doesn’t pretend to be bigger than it is. This is a lean, minimalist thriller with a unique plot device, some really fun twists and two standout performances from the lead characters. In other words, this is just a fun night at the movies so don’t overthink it!
“Drop” gets four out of five Tarman’s
