SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
Single mom Violet (played by Meghann Fahy) has slow-played a possible match on a dating app. When the time finally comes to meet Henry (Brandon Sklenar), it takes a Herculean effort by her sister (Violett Beane) to get her out of the house and actually go. Once at the restaurant, Violet starts getting digiDrop messages from an anonymous sender requiring her to execute certain tasks while on her date. When she refuses — or tries to find ways around them — she’s threatened with her son and sisters’ lives. While he doesn’t know the severity of the threats, Henry tries to help his date sort out who in the restaurant is sending the drops but attempt after attempt just leads to more peculiar behavior.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
It’s not every day a feature film can (basically) shoot in one location for the majority of the run time and be as riveting as DROP. I’m sure, in the pitch meeting, a 95-minute movie about text messages going back and fourth was met with some resistance. But, lo and behold, director Christopher Landon made it work and made it work well. The way he captures the drama of each text while simultaneously keeping the characters’ perspectives and the audience engaged with creative titling is what sets DROP apart.
And then there’s the cast. Fahy follows up her incredible supporting performance in THE UNBREAKABLE BOY with a whole different range as the lead in DROP. Additionally, Sklenar plays his character so well that the audience debates whether he’s orchestrating the chaos or an innocent bystander to root for.
There are some questionable moments like when Violet’s home is threatened and she somehow magically gets from downtown Chicago to her suburban home in a matter of minutes. But overall, DROP is a fun, empathetic mystery thriller — with an applause-worthy twist — in a tight little package, both in runtime and set.
Is Blumhouse actually becoming a respected production company before our very eyes?
JKG SCORE: 7.0
Untitled Film Project 