As if going on a first date wasn't stressful enough, in Blumhouse's Drop, Violet must also deal with someone air dropping her sinister messages that culminate in one bloody confrontation.
Drop Movie Review
First dates can be stressful, especially if you are just getting back out onto the dating scene after a traumatic breakup. If you're a single parent, the anxiety skyrockets because let's face it, if things go well, kids play an important role in the future of this budding relationship. Director Christopher Landon, working with a script by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, amplifies that apprehension by adding in a solid dose of the thriller genre to the mix. Set primarily in a single location, and following in the footsteps of other phone-focused offerings like Phone Booth, Drop at times feels like a chaotic group chat full of drama. But you don't want to leave it, you want to grab popcorn and see where it leads
Drop is a first date from hell. Yet despite being a slow burn, tense, and sometimes bloody, it also finds time to be romantic or at least to poke fun at the tropes we all know. Bear McCreary's score knows just when to stick the knife in and when to allow a reprieve so we can gush at just how ridiculously great this date may have been under different circumstances. Landon is no stranger to taking common concepts and crafting them into something thrilling yet fun. Freaky reimagined the body swapping trope while Happy Death Day was Groundhog's Day with a killer twist. Drop is more simple in concept than those two, yet it still plays with the typical romance aesthetic while making its characters fight for their lives.
Violet (Meghann Fahy) is a widow, a single mom, and survivor of domestic abuse. After years of being alone, she somewhat reluctantly has agreed to leave her five-year-old son Toby (Jacob Robinson) for the night with her sister Jen (Violett Beane) in order to go on a first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar). Despite being on edge, Henry is the perfect gentleman, he's charming, sweet, funny, and thoughtful. But things go wrong when Violet begins receiving “Digi-drops” (the in-world version of Apple’s Airdrop). At first they seem harmless but eventually they become threatening. The sender then orders her to look at her home cameras where she sees a masked gunman in her house. Violet needs to follow the mysterious man's orders or her son and sister will die. But when they order her to kill Henry, Violet becomes determined to figure out who the anonymous sender is and how to save everyone's lives.
Once the premise of Drop is established there is nothing really shocking that happens. It's a claustrophobic psychological thriller that takes its sweet time getting established. Legitimately, the first hour and change is a slow burn with the last 20 minutes picking up speed to race to the finish. Landon spends that time introducing everyone we might find suspicious in a story like this. From the moment Violet enters the restaurant, each person she interacts with from the bartender to an old man on a blind date gets just enough screen time to make you add them to the list of suspects. Some are more lively (or dubious) than others but they serve their purpose. The only one you never suspect is Henry and that seems to be by design. Non-spoiler alert- it's not Henry.
Because the location and the premise are pretty barebones, Landon needs to get creative to hold our attention. He along with cinematographer Marc Spicer make the most of their ultra-swanky rooftop restaurant, moving from wide shots to increasingly closer ones, as if to show just how suffocated Violet is feeling as she races to save her son (and innocent Henry). They use spotlights, Dutch angles, close-ups, and even erase everyone and everything around her to drive home the point she is experiencing all of this alone. Some of these shots might seem a little over-the-top but it's what makes Drop entertaining even in the face of logic. I will say I enjoyed how the texts from her tormentor became the walls in which she found herself trapped in. There is one scene where everything is replaced by the video footage of the intruder in her home, the threatening memes, and the texts telling her to kill Henry.
Logic is that thing that needs to be suspended in order to buy into these types of films. From the moment she received the first Digi-drop you immediately think just turn it off. Or if you're like me, I was wondering why she had it open for strangers anyways. Contacts only Violet! The script sidesteps this obviousness by making it a playful game between Violet and Henry as they sleuth out who the likely culprit may be. Things gradually become more sinister and that's when the camerawork and editing come into play to keep the idea of “air drop death threats” from losing any steam.
It also helps that Drop is only 90 minutes and that slow burn build up features plenty of backstory for Violet. It can get a little heavy-handed thematically, but at the same time that's as it should be. Domestic violence isn't a feel good story. I do wish we could've seen her overcoming her own trauma more by the end, but that third act hits the gas and never looks back. None of this would work without a committed performance by Fahy. She is more than up for the task, fully portraying the pressure and anxieties Violet is feeling as the night progresses. Fahy conveys so much with just her eyes or facial expressions, something we get a lot of in this film. She nails it every time that lens zooms in on her. Sklenar gets less to do overall but delivers his natural “good guy” persona. Henry has some secrets to him as well but Drop is not concerned about them even if I was.
Verdict
Drop is a movie that asks what if you were told you had to kill someone on your first date? Turns out the answer is a contained little thriller that is sure to delight fans of the genre. Sure some of the film is a little silly and defies common sense but that's what these kinds of stories do. Fahy's performance is stellar and sells the whole thing, yes even the more convenient parts. If you're looking for a psychological thriller, Drop is a solid choice, even if it's your first date.
Drop is in theaters on April 11. It is rated PG-13 for strong violent content, suicide, some strong language and sexual references with a runtime of 90 minutes.
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