Drop (2025)
Drop (2025)
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When a movie knows what it wants to do and doesn't waste time doing it, it can be so refreshing to see an effective thrill ride. Christopher Landon’s “Drop” is one of those films, a thriller that unfolds in two locations with few characters, all in pursuit of providing as much entertainment as possible to ticket buyers. It is a film with old-fashioned charm in its structure and star power that is based on new technology. Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”) and Brandon Sklenar (“1923”) may have reached their highest peaks of fame so far in television, but these are movie stars, people that the camera loves to linger on as they struggle their way through an unimaginable night. They have that hard-to-measure quality known as screen presence, which was used as a foundation for generations of filmmaking in some of the best thrillers ever made. I am not claiming that "Drop" is among the greatest thrillers ever made. However, seeing a movie that is designed like a rollercoaster is pure entertainment at a time when it seems like many films like this can't figure out who they are. Watch for the first drop. It's a big one. Fahy plays Violet, who is introduced in a scene of terrifying violence with her abusive partner. Toby's father, played by Jacob Robinson, dies; the movie doesn't say if Violet killed him or not. As a result, Violet has been reluctant to get back into the dating scene. She's finally ready to go out to dinner with Henry (Sklenar), the person she's been texting for years. He has reserved a table at the posh Palate restaurant in Chicago, which is high above the Windy City. When he tells her to meet him at the bar because he's running a little late, this thrill ride starts to get better. Violet receives a series of drops to her phone using an app called "DigiDrop" after a few casual encounters with other diners at the restaurant, including the hostess, bartender, pianist, and a helpless man on a blind date. They’re coming from someone no more than 50 feet away—so in the restaurant—and they seem innocuous at first, maybe some playful meme shit from the table of prom kids in the room, but they get dark quickly. One of them reveals that a masked man is present at Violet's house and is prepared to kill Toby and Violet's sister, Jen (Violett Beane). Violet has to do everything the mysterious dropper says, or her sister and son will be murdered.
Of course, the main instruction for a thriller like this one is always that Violet can’t tell anyone. The fact that Violet tries to get help but can't get it to the right people for a lot of the first half of the movie is a sharp commentary on how abused women are trapped by a system that doesn't hear them. As her charming date patiently pushes through Violet’s erratic behavior, I started to worry that “Drop” would be a film about Prince Charming saving the day once he finally figures out that his date is being tormented. However, the script written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach cleverly avoids that trope. This is Violet's entire story, one of a survivor forced to do whatever it takes to save herself and her son once more. When they move up to the big screen, small-screen actors occasionally lose some of what makes them unique. But that is absolutely not the case with Fahy, who has a striking immediacy here. "Drop" would end if we didn't buy what Violet is going through or if we started to question the admittedly complicated plot device of the thriller. Landon wisely recognizes that Fahy is his greatest asset, and he never leaves her side. We become her partners in this nightmare, as uncertain of who is torturing her, why this is happening, or how to get out of it. The director of “Happy Death Day” and “Freaky” leaves most of the humor of those films behind to pivot to something more grounded, but he also never takes himself too seriously. He’s a talented director, and he works with talented collaborators especially editor Ben Baudhuin and the great composer Bear McCreary to present a cohesive vision that never takes itself too seriously but thrills, nonetheless.
In retrospect, some of the plotting in “Drop” feels a bit nonsensical the entire plan is a little nuts if one spends too long thinking about it and the reveal of the true villain of the film is a bit underwhelming. I didn’t really care while I was watching. Again, the rollercoaster analogy fits in that the anticipation and the peaks along the way are always more fun than the end. Additionally, it will not cause motion sickness.
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