When her date is gatecrashed by a string of threatening messages, widowed single mother Violet Gates is forced into a terrifying game of cat and mouse, as she tries to uncover the identity of her stalker before his henchman kills her son. Directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) with a screenplay co-written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, Drop stars Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus) and Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us).
Violet Gates, is preparing for her first date since the death of her abusive husband. Violet, who has been speaking to the handsome photographer Henry Campbell on a dating app for months, finally drummed up the courage to meet in person at the high-rise restaurant Palate. Understandably anxious, Violet soon begins to receive memes via “Digi-Drops” from an unknown user that gradually become more threatening, setting Violet on edge as she and Henry attempt to find out who is sending the drops. As they realise that the anonymous drop-sender must be inside the restaurant, everyone becomes a suspect and an ally as Violet tries to keep her son safe and her date at the table.
Having never seen a single episode of The White Lotus, I had no frame of reference for Meghann Fahy and her acting skills. I was honestly very impressed by Fahy’s ability to juggle Violet’s PTSD, anxiety, and distress with her tenacity, intelligence, and resourcefulness. At first relying on Henry’s help, Violet quickly steps up to confront her harasser and save her son, playing her Mystery Messenger’s game all while working to outsmart them and get out alive.
Brandon Sklenar, who previously exist in my brain only as a bit of a player in the domestic violence drama It Ends With Us, had the opportunity to actually show off more of his skills as his character, Henry Campbell. The handsome photographer is kind, compassionate, witty, and is unwillingly put in the middle of Violet’s digital torture session. In trying to figure out what’s going on with her, Henry and Violet weave in and out of being at odds and being a team. Sklenar is remarkably unassuming for someone so tall, handsome, etc. The way he so effortlessly charms Violet is both endearing and suspicious, and Sklenar toes that line delicately.
Typically, I am not a fan of thriller films that take place in a centralised location. While everyone was praising 2010’s Buried, I was far from impressed and thoroughly bored by Ryan Reynolds being stuck in a box. Knowing that the bulk of Drop was set in a single locale, coupled with a fairly thin plot, my expectations for Christopher Landon’s latest endeavour were fairly low. Consider this my formal apology.
In order to prevent the single location setting from feeling stale, Landon utilises dramatic top-down shots, sweeping panoramas, and superimposed text across the frame to make Drop feel larger and more intense. One of my favourite pieces of editing in the whole film came in the form of suspicious restaurant patrons being shown in spotlight, breaking the fourth wall and staring directly into Violet’s “eyes”. Amping up the notion that everyone is a potential suspect, this small but impactful bit of editing did a fantastic job of imprinting these characters in the viewer’s mind, forcing you to wonder which one of them could be capable of toying with someone’s life.
Yes, Drop is set almost entirely in a restaurant, and yes, the plot is very simple, but this film is far from boring. Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, whose previous works include 2018’s Truth or Dare and 2020’s Fantasy Island, have somehow taken a very bare skeleton plot and have written a screenplay that is surprisingly engaging, with clever twists and heart-pumping action. Add in Christopher Landon, whose directorial work includes some of my favourite modern horror hybrids, and Drop becomes a genuinely engaging movie that delivers more than its premise would have you believe.
Drop is in cinemas nationwide from Thursday 17th April.