Technology and trauma come together once again for Christopher Landon‘s latest Blumhouse thriller Drop, a fun and satisfying ride through a first date from hell.
Years after the traumatizing death of her husband, widowed mother Violet (Meghann Fahy) is ready to put herself back out there, accepting a first date with the charming Henry (Brandon Sklenar) after three months of online flirtations. But their romantic evening takes a nightmarish turn when Violet begins receiving anonymous drops on her phone with nefarious memes and instructions, while her son is held hostage at home.
With Landon’s visually striking Hitchcock-ian direction, screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach provide a fun tech-driven update on the urban legend that spawned 1979’s When a Stranger Calls (and its fun 2006 remake) as the drops come from inside the house.
Admittedly, the big reveal was mildly predictable after an ensemble of early red herrings, but that’s totally forgiven thanks to the nonstop clever twists and turns that await Fahy’s Violet, a fiercely protective, albeit shame-ridden mother who’s good at thinking on her feet, especially when her child is in danger.
Fahy gives a captivating performance as an anxious woman struggling to keep it together on her first date in years. Playing a therapist that helps other abused women find their worth while struggling to find her own, Fahy certainly gives a worthy, dynamic performance that makes her a “final girl” to watch.
Meanwhile, the chemistry between Fahy and Sklenar only grows with the tension, even as Violet suspects her date is the one harassing her.
It would also be a sin not to praise Jeffrey Self’s hilariously unhinged performance as an aspiring improv actor moonlighting as a waiter who lacks any social cues. He briefly mentions a sketch in which he plays Allison Janney’s hat, and I need to hear more.
The extravagant sky-high restaurant set is the perfect playground for Landon, utilizing every inch of the space to illustrate the claustrophobic horror of the date through Violet’s perspective. Meticulous angles and lighting are also used to beautifully elevate the tension.
Punctuating Landon’s fun and youthful horror repertoire, Drop speaks to a modern obsession with screens over human connection while presenting a fake version of ourselves online and struggling to come to terms with our own unique baggage. It’s also just a fun-ass thriller that puts all 100 minutes of runtime to good use.
Title: Drop
Festival: SXSW (Headliner)
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Release date: April 11
Director: Christopher Landon
Screenwriter: Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Ed Weeks
Running time: 1 hr 40 min
