Thrilling Drop is an Energetic Jolt of Giddily Cartoonish Fun
After months of chatting online, widowed mother Violet (Meghann Fahy) finally feels ready to go on a date with charming photographer Henry (Brandon Sklenar). It’s her first time out since the mysterious death of her abusive ex-husband, and she is understandably nervous. Mostly about leaving her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) at home, even if he is with her wisecracking, if still dependable, kid sister Jen (Violett Beane).
Thankfully, Henry is a great guy. Caring. Empathetic. Handsome. Things are going swimmingly and she is immediately smitten. But as soon as their date gets interesting and their conversation grows even more intense, Violet’s phone blows up with drop requests. Turns out, someone in the restaurant has her under surveillance. Even worse, they have another individual hiding inside her house ready to assassinate Jen and Toby if she doesn’t follow their instructions.
And what are those orders? Violet must kill Henry.
Happy Death Day and Freaky filmmaker Christopher Landon channels his inner Wes Craven with the new suspense thriller Drop, a goofily enjoyable tech-friendly lark that makes the most of its primary location and squeezes as much tension as possible out of its economically resourceful premise. Other than a labored prologue (along with some sluggish flashbacks sprinkled here and there fleshing it out even more), this intoxicating chiller hits all the right notes. I had a terrific time watching it all play out to a conclusion.
While there’s precious little lurking inside the screenplay written by Jillian Jacobs (Fantasy Island) and Chris Roach (Non-Stop) that could be construed as a surprise, the pair do such a nice job crafting multidimensional characters and planting enough interesting red herrings to sort through that it doesn’t matter that all of this turns out to be patently ridiculous. I was rooting for Violet right from the start, and so when the audience cheered her at exactly the precise moment one would anticipate they would do so, I was clapping, hooting, and hollering right alongside them.
There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is Fahy’s sublime performance. The White Lotus Emmy nominee gets to cut loose, digging into a bevy of complicated emotions as Violet navigates this impossible situation. In her interactions with Sklenar, the actor is tasked with showcasing an entrancing facade while at the same time concealing interior confusions that threaten to rip her mentally and physically into shreds. These must be imperceptible to those her character is attempting to entrance yet still instantly obvious to the audience sitting on pins and needles watching her do it. Fahy pulls all of this off with magnetic aplomb.
It also helps that Landon directs the heck out of the picture. He navigates through the primary restaurant set gifted to him by production designer Susie Cullen (Abigail) with playful grace, the high-end (and high-rise) eatery — whimsically named “Palate” — Violet and Henry have chosen for this first date impeccably realized. The film is also sensationally shot by cinematographer Marc Spicer (Escape Room), while editor Ben Baudhuin (Azrael) cuts things together with electrifying verisimilitude. Kudos must also be given to composer Bear McCreary (The Last Voyage of the Demeter) and costume designer Gwen Jeffares Hourie (Arcadian), both of whom are at the top of their respective games.
If things do feel derivative of the exemplary 2005 Craven thriller Red Eye starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy only updated to the 2020s and with a slightly more cartoonishly outlandish bent, that’s fine by me. Much like the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream hit-maker, Landon shows a playfully eclectic majesty where it comes to balancing suspense, horror, humor, and general human pathos and planting them inside a scenario that’s as silly as it is inspired. Because of this and more, Drop ends up being a massive amount of fun.
Film Rating: 3 (out of 4)
