Drop

Drop

2025, 95 mins., PG-13

Directed by Christopher Landon

Written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach

Produced by Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Brad Fuller, Cameron Fuller, Sam Lerner

Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jeffrey Self

*** out of ****

“Drop” is a perfect example of a movie that hooks you, involves you, and surprises you while at the same time it also causes you to question it as it becomes progressively more ridiculous. We have fun just the same because we like its characters and it does come up with clever ways of raising the stakes in spite of itself.

Widow, single mother and therapist Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy) is about to leave her young son in the care of her sister while she goes on her first date in years with a man she has been talking to for months. The lucky guy is photographer Henry Campbell (Brandon Sklenar) who seems just as nervous as she is when they first meet. They eat together at a high rise restaurant called Palate.

While they’re chatting each other up Violet begins receiving weird Digi-Drops from someone who has claimed to duplicate her phone so they can track her. Henry figures that the drops are coming from inside the bar and goes to look around while Violet continues receiving Drops that become increasingly threatening as the evening continues. Henry becomes concerned for Violet, while she continues receiving drops that cause her question her date and safety.

The first thing that I took notice of in “Drop” was how likable and engaging all of the characters and performances are. Fahy and Sklenar are so appealing that you not only want to see them make it through the night, you really hope that they’ll end up together. Everyone around them, the chatty bartender, the humorous waiter, even another man she meets at the bar all have a winning spirit that is kind of infectious and for a while, at least, seem to be rooting for them too.

What’s even more surprising about the movie is how smart the characters are. They don’t just sit around and allow the drops to keep happening, they take action. Some of those actions are questionable, mostly because the script is questionable but at least you know the film isn’t lazy and Director Christopher Landon isn’t content with dumbing the material down. He pulls us along with Violet at a forward momentum that never breaks stride until the very end. The stakes are raised effectively because Landon finds his steady fluid rhythm even though the script threatens to derail his and the casts efforts.

Notice that I have avoided spoiling much of the movie’s surprise which will be ruined for you if you watch the trailer. One more reason to hate the current state of movie marketing. You can’t really talk specifically about the script issues without spoiling it either. All I can say is this movie takes the suspension of disbelief to the extreme abandoning logic and sense by the end even, though, once again, you still remain hooked.