Drop (dir. Christopher Landon)

by Jack Martin | Apr 13, 2025

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 95 mins

UK Distributor: Universal Pictures

UK Release Date: 11 April 2025

WHO’S IN DROP?

Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Christopher Landon (director), Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach (writers), Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Brad Fuller and Cameron Fuller (producers), Bear McCreary (composer), Marc Spicer (cinematographer), Ben Baudhuin (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A single mother (Fahy) on a blind date receives some disturbing messages on her phone…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON DROP?

Before signing on to direct Drop, Christopher Landon was all set to helm the seventh entry in the Scream franchise, only for him to exit when – among other reasons – online fans harassed and even sent death threats to him and his family in response to the unceremonious firing of actor Melissa Barrera, a decision that was ultimately out of his control. The director’s unfortunate experience, which he has been heavily vocal about in recent interviews to promote this movie, has clearly factored into his take on Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach’s script that already leans heavily into the fears and dangers of online harassment, but only someone like Landon who’s gone through all that and lived to tell the tale could really bring out the genuine intensity that a simple menacing meme can conjure.

The resulting film is a fun ride, one that brings a great deal of Hitchcockian suspense to a frightfully modern love story but also packs enough humour and heart to stand apart as a compelling character piece that, while far from perfect, delivers the kinds of thrills that you want from a movie like this.

Drop opens with Violet (Meghann Fahy), a single mother still haunted by her abusive marriage, preparing for a first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar), a handsome photographer she’s matched with on a dating app. Leaving her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) in the capable hands of her sister Jen (Violett Beane), Violet heads to a fancy high-rise restaurant where she eventually meets Henry, but while there’s an instant spark between the two it’s clear that she is still quite nervous from her past experiences. That anxiety is quadrupled when she begins receiving a bunch of increasingly threatening messages via this universe’s version of AirDrop, sent by an unknown figure within the restaurant who also reveals that an armed masked man is on standby in her house, ready to kill both Toby and Jen if she does not comply with their demands – which, as it turns out, involves killing her date.

There’s a genuine menace to Drop that rarely lets up as soon as it gets going, as Landon carefully creates a claustrophobic atmosphere where the protagonist is almost always being observed by security cameras and fellow restaurant patrons, any one of whom could be behind it all, enveloping her in this tense situation that’s practically impossible to escape from. The constant surveillance, coupled with the fact that this whole area takes place several hundred feet off the ground, is enough to make one feel dizzy just from thinking about it all, something that the director takes advantage of as he incorporates a neat visual style (brought to life by Marc Spicer’s cinematography) which plays directly on those feelings of always being watched while also being forced to act according to the tormentor’s demands. Landon balances the heavy suspense with lighter moments of humour that come in and out when needed without staying too long to disrupt the overall tone, such as a comic relief waiter who feels like a character out of a Paul Feig comedy but, somewhat thankfully, largely stays in the background.

Providing further levity from the tension is the very date that we’re on, as actors Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar share a warm and viable chemistry where both get to express a sense of immediate comfort in each other’s presence that allows them to open up and, in the process, feel like more fleshed-out characters. Fahy, in particular, carries most of the film with a gripping performance that combines not just a growing sense of dread as her unseen tormentor dominates her evening, but also a much deeper nervousness that’s clearly been left over from her past abuse and threatens to derail her date even before the messages start dropping onto her phone. Despite everything, you really do want this date to go well, not just because their connection is solid but also because the more you learn about them as the evening goes on, the more you see how genuinely good they are as people, for the script does a very good job of making them very likeable and easy to root for.

Almost inevitably, though, Drop begins to do just that as soon as it gets into the increasingly ludicrous third act. There are some reveals which do work, and the person who we eventually learn to be the culprit delivers one hell of an entertainingly nasty turn, but then it gets into specifics about the true intentions behind the derailed evening that really don’t add up, to where you start wondering why the villains would go to all this effort when a much simpler solution was also an option. There are also some action-filled set-pieces featuring, without giving anything away (unlike the trailers which do show more than they should), broken windows and an assailant who appears to have the strength and indestructability of Michael Myers that, while fun to watch, are pretty silly for a movie that’s already done a good job at being a particularly contained thriller. It’s at this point that you wonder whether the writers struggled to come up with an ending that fits the tone of what came before it, or if producer Michael Bay requested that something this outlandish serve as the climax, even if it feels like an entirely different movie as a result.

It may not be without its flaws, but Drop knows how to keep the audience thoroughly entertained with its nail-biting premise and gripping execution, both of which give the film an immense watchability that you can easily see audiences coming back to again and again. Furthermore, it only further proves that the people behind that upcoming Scream movie didn’t know what they had when they allowed Landon (and its stars) to walk away, because if the director had brought the same balance of suspense and comedy that he applies here, they could well have had a franchise all-timer on their hands.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Drop is a highly entertaining thriller that, while not without its flaws such as an increasingly silly third act, revels in Hitchcockian suspense and some heartfelt character work that creates as much compassion as there is tension.