Written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, and directed by Christopher Landon, Drop follows single mother, Violet (Meghann Fahy), on her very first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar) while her son is home with her sister (Violett Beane). The date starts promising, until Violet starts getting increasingly aggressive digidrop requests on her phone, culminating in an instruction for her to kill Henry or lose her son forever. As she devises ways to save her son and obey the instructions without Henry getting suspicious, she also tries to figure out who in the room is sending her these requests.
The tagline means it when it says, ‘everyone is a suspect’. If you asked me, the people in that restaurant were a little too interested in Violet. It might have been the introvert in me talking but, at some point in the film, I audibly asked, ‘who are all these people?’ The cast does an incredible job towing the line between friendly/helpful/flirty and creepy, never fully gaining the audience’s trust. I love a good whodunit (or, in this case, who’s-doing-it), so it was fun suspecting everyone from Henry to the bartender and rearranging the suspect list as new information unfolded that ruled out whoever was in the top spot.
Drop was also so much fun to watch visually. I find it inspiring when you can tell someone has put so much thought, effort and heart into their craft, and you can definitely see that on screen. With a killer tormenting a female character through a phone, Drop is somewhat reminiscent of Scream (which is the film that made me go ‘hmm, maybe I don’t hate slashers’), but a lot of the director’s choices make this film a true breath of fresh air.
Another interesting detail in this film is that Violet is a survivor of domestic abuse. It’s hard to ignore that as the situation she finds herself in unfolds. The killer seems to prey on the trauma that comes from experiencing abuse, and consequently, the film highlights these experiences. Violet is a little guarded and untrusting but is also very aware of her surroundings – traits that become strengths for her as she finds her way out of this mystery and gains her power back.
If you couldn’t already tell based on how many times I used the word, Drop was the most fun I’ve had in a theatre in a while. It’s also another reason to get your investigating on before you go on that date.
Drop is available in theatres on Friday, April 11th, 2025.
