Director Christopher Landon is back with Drop, a wild datenight thriller that blends dating apps and social media into a Hitchcock-style suspense rollercoster. We caught the premiere at SXSW along with the cast and crew, and actually sat right behind Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse. Fortunately, this Blumhouse dating nightmare turned out to be well worth the hype as Landon proves, once again, that he’s got a knack for keeping us all on edge.
The story follows Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed mom stepping back into dating after years of heartbreak. She connects with Henry (Brandon Sklenar), an online match who seems like the perfect gentleman. But right when their dinner kicks off, things take a dark turn as Violet gets creepy messages on her phone from a stranger in the restaurant watching her every move. These anonymous “drops” come with creepy memes and cryptic instructions, and if that’s not bad enough, her son’s being held hostage back home.
Fahy’s Violet is not just the typical horror lead—she’s a mom, a fighter, and someone dealing with real trauma both in her history and in real time as she portrays a therapist who helps abused women rediscover their self-worth. Her intense situation makes her an ideal protagonist for this twisted story. On the flip side, Sklenar keeps you moderately guessing as Henry. He gives off moderately honest good-guy vibes, and their chemistry is electric to make every scene between them feel something is about to tip over.
The entire film takes place in an upscale, high-rise restaurant, automatically creating a claustrophobic, trapped feeling at 300 feet in the sky. The film digs into our love-hate relationship with technology, flipping Violet’s focus to her phone and the person on the other end controlling her fate.
Hardcore horror fans might claim to see the big twist coming, but Drop makes up for it with a solid ending along with non-stop tension, clever twists, and a subtle jab at our obsession with digital personas. And I can’t forget Jeffery Self, who totally stole the show as the as the comically awkward waiter on his first night as a server. His quirky humor is so unexpected, but it works to lighten up the mood in between the tension building moments.
At just 100 minutes, Drop barely wastes any time to hook you and doesn’t let go until the final scene. It’s sharp, intense, and just plain fun. If you’re into thrillers that mix cyber and social media paranoia with psychological tension, you’ll enjoy this movie when it hits theaters in April.
