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Go behind the scenes of Drop with director Christopher Landon
Featurette: Universal Pictures

Drop
Directed by Christopher Landon
Rated PG-13
DM'd 11 April 2025
#DropTheMovie

This story of social terrorism doesn’t have a smooth landing, but the bumpy ride is part of the fun.

Vertigo

It's a really strong start to Drop, one that succinctly touches on a number of aspects of modern life and the changing norms that have altered the social landscape, driven in large part by mobile apps for communicating and finding dates. It’s the kind of beginning that ignites expectations for a thriller that might drive into new territory.

The first frames are a flashback to a terrified woman, held at gunpoint by her husband, who’s also terrorizing their toddler son. Somebody’s going to die, so it seems. Then it’s a quick cut to contemporary times and the line, "Let’s back up a few seconds."

The woman speaking that line is the same woman from the deadly encounter and Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus) is now a counselor helping other women overcome abusive relationships.

As it happens, Violet is about to set out on her first date in years. She’s a little rusty. Rusty about all things dating: what clothes to wear, what to say and where to meet the right guy.

In this case, she’s met Henry Campbell (Brandon Sklenar, It Ends With Us) through a dating app and their first date is at a posh restaurant atop a Chicago skyscraper (filmed, though, "on location" in Ireland). He’s the mayor’s staff photographer. He’s a little rusty on the dating scene, too, but good enough at it to still have a sense of humor about the whole thing. And that’s even as Violet becomes increasingly distracted by her phone. (The idea for all this, as told in The Hollywood Reporter, came from a dining experience during which the girlfriend of one of the producers started receiving numerous "creepy" Shrek memes via Apple’s AirDrop. They couldn’t figure out who was doing it.)

There are, of course, other folks there for some fine dining (meaning: expensive plates, small portions). One guy’s on a blind date (his date isn’t on any of those social channels out there). Another guy is waiting for his sister, who’s apparently stuck at the airport.

There’s a waiter named Matt who’s on his first shift at the posh spot. A little too gregarious, a little too loquacious. He’s also a little too theatrical, but that’s his shtick. While she seems really nice and helpful, maybe it's the bartender. Or the cheesy piano player. Or the nice on an as-needed basis hostess.

And yet, as the evening progresses, all of these by-all-appearances normal and seemingly nice people become suspicious as their mannerisms seem to turn twisted (you know, under the right light and as personal tensions start to distort reality).

Who is the manipulative troll? Who is sending Violet threatening DMs in an app called digiDrop? (It’s an alternative to AirDrop. It’s a shame they didn’t call it dripDrop.)

Baby Shark

So much of Drop works quite well. Director Christopher Landon, who’s helmed the Happy Death Day movies starring Jessica Rothe, has a knack for this material and he punches this one up with some nice visual flair.

The suspense mounts as the direct messages and memes get darker.

"Your phone was cloned," she’s told.

"Don’t call the cops."

"Don’t leave the restaurant."

"Don’t tell anyone."

"And kill your date."

"Or your son dies."

Everybody starts to look suspicious. One guy’s been waiting a mighty long time for his date to show up. A woman has resting disgusted face. Now that hyper waiter has a bit of an edge to him.

Who could it be? According to Henry, whoever it is must be within 50 feet for the app to work.

With that, there’s a playfulness reminiscent of Hitchcock’s classic single-room scenarios, such as Rear Window and Rope. Close confines. A potential killer nearby.

The Horror

The story plays out almost in real time. Violet lives in a conspicuously huge house; it’s immaculately decorated, loaded with nice furniture and not a speck of dust. Maybe she got some insurance from that incident with her husband a few years back. Regardless, it’s the home’s security cameras which help identify the timeline. Violet heads out on her date around 7:26 in the evening. Checking in on the intensifying situation with her son and her sister in danger back home, it’s 8:52 at night — tracking with the movie’s runtime.

Overall, Drop holds together well as a suspense flick, but it loses a step, loses some steam as the violence ratchets up both in the restaurant and back home. Things almost derail entirely in the house. Yeah. You could say Drop drops the ball, but at least it’s rubber; the movie bounces right back from some awkwardness that involves a villain’s unmasking that strangely doesn’t really go anywhere.

Nonetheless, screen scribes Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, who previously shared writing credit on Fantasy Island (2020) and Truth or Dare (2018) keep the guessing going even as the intricate plotting and planning required to orchestrate the nefarious Machiavellian plan manipulating Violet’s every move stretches all credulity.

This, as Hitchcock would say, is "only a movie," so chill out while the tensions mount and enjoy the vicarious thrills of a couple enduring a truly challenging first date.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.

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