Drop - Review: A Deadly Date Night Gone Digital

There’s something to be said for a reliable formula, and arguably no one in Hollywood knows that better than Blumhouse, the premiere makers of modern, reliable, low-budget horror fare. Over the past few years, one of their most reliable hitmakers has been Christopher Landon (“Happy Death Day,” “Freaky”), a director/writer who’s made a name more recently thanks to his campier, more comedic horror fare. Now, his latest film leans more into suspense and less into humor than any of his previous works, the simply titled “Drop.”

The film follows recently widowed single mother and therapist Violet Gates, played by Meghann Fahy (“The Bold Type,” “The White Lotus”), going on her first date since her husband’s death. After matching with Henry, played by Brandon Sklenar (“1923,” “It Ends with Us”), and leaving her sister Jen, played by Violett Beane (“Truth or Dare,” “Death and Other Details”), to watch her young son, Violet and Henry meet for a dinner date at an exclusive fancy restaurant. Shortly after arriving though, she begins receiving airdrops from an unknown party asking her to do certain things, including killing Henry, or else they will kill her sister and son.

For a fairly simple concept, Landon goes fully in on crafting the thrills in as creative a way as he can without completely reinventing the wheel. Numerous moments make excellent use of faux lighting and camera angles, purposefully playing with how things must look to Violet as opposed to being strictly “realistic.” One moment of her looking at her home security cameras has them appearing on different tiles on the wall behind her, and the film will occasionally dim or shut off the lights around her to isolate her. That, coupled with some fun Hitchockian dutch angles courtesy of cinematographer Marc Spicer (“Lights Out (2016),” “Fast & Furious 7”), makes for a presentation that's far better than the B-movie tale it's telling.

Which isn’t to say that said B-movie tale isn’t still entertaining. While a larger part of that comes from the presentation, the script from Jillian Jacobs (“Fantasy Island,” “Truth or Dare”) and Chris Roach (“Fantasy Island,” “Truth or Dare”) does its basic job in setting things up and getting you invested in the thrills Violet is subjected to. There’s just enough mystery and intrigue to keep things puttering along, and the central performances from Fahy and Sklenar both make for a compelling duo. The rest of the cast all fill their spots admirably, with none really amounting to anything more than pawns put in specific places for this kind of a “who-is-doing-it” whodunit.

At a brisk 95 minutes with credits, “Drop” doesn’t overstay its welcome. The performances from Fahy and Sklenar keep things brisk, and the pacing never drags. While things get a bit over-the-top in the last ten or so minutes, what’s here works on a very basic level. It’s the sort of movie that just feels like something that used to come out all the time back in the early 2000s. For anyone who’s seen the early 2000s Wes Craven film “Red Eye,” there are a few similarities here, in both construction and concept. That’s not a bad thing though, as plenty of horror or thriller films often overstay their welcome. Here, Landon gets you in and out in a timely and fun manner.

“Drop” is a perfect example of a film telling a B-movie tale with the flourishes of something next level. Its two leads are great, and the central idea provides enough twists and turns to keep things entertaining the whole way through. If there was a less skilled person in the director’s chair, it's not hard to imagine it being far more forgettable. With Landon, it’s a great little deadly date-movie treat. 3.5/5