What most people would call a “disastrous and dreadful night,” Violet (Meghann Fahy) calls a first date. Film director Christopher Landon’s newest movie, “Drop,” takes the audience through the emotional distraught of a date gone horribly wrong. Released on April 11, 2025, this movie will make its audience rethink their phone’s security. The story is thrilling and suspenseful, using theatrical tricks to enhance the movie’s visuals.
Landon has directed numerous other horror/thriller films, including “Happy Death Day,” “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones,” and “Freaky.” “Drop” had a budget of $11 million, which is double Landon’s previous films, but only made a little over $7 million in its first week. “Drop” fully immerses each viewer in the anxiety of a bad first date, portrayed by the stunning acting and cinematography.
As the movie begins, the actors’ names flash across the screen amidst various, seemingly random objects, which soon take on symbolic meaning. It is a gorgeous opening, but it is quickly interrupted by a macabre scene of Violet trying to escape her previous husband. The film then cuts to modern-day Violet, now a widowed mother, preparing for her first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar). Though she wants to meet him, she is hesitant to leave her 5-year-old son, Toby (Jacob Robinson), at home. Her sister, Jen (Violett Beane), assures her it will be fine, and so Violet reluctantly leaves for her date at Palate, a 38-floor restaurant with dark lighting and tight, curving hallways. This setting is artfully designed to simulate a claustrophobic, cage-like area to accentuate Violet’s feelings of being trapped.
Violet meets the majority of the characters within the first few minutes of being at the Palate, which allows the viewers to get to know every character. The most notable of the supporting characters are Phil the pianist (Ed Weeks), Cara the bartender (Gabrielle Ryan), Matt the waiter (Jeffery Self), and Richard, a man on a blind date (Reed Diamond). Violet also bumps into Conner (Travis Nelson) multiple times, making Violet suspicious of him. She soon began receiving ominous DigiDrops, AirDrop-style messages, from an account called Let’s_Play. What started as odd memes quickly escalated to messages sharing Violet’s personal information, as well as a message telling her to check her security cameras. She finds that her son and sister are being held hostage, and she has no choice but to do what the anonymous messenger says in order to save them. Violet spends the rest of the movie working through the tasks given to her, but they increasingly get more dangerous, eventually instructing her to kill her date.
Clearly, this movie is a modern take on classic whodunnits, introducing all of the suspects early and leaving the audience and main character to figure it out. The problem is that most of these classics have a clear motive that led to this moment. The murderer has reasons for their chaos that allow the audience to better understand why they are. There is none of this in “Drop.” The antagonist briefly mentions their reasoning, but it is still not clear why they chose Violet as the victim of these messages and why they needed to do any of this in the first place. One of the best parts about whodunnits and mystery storylines is tying the antagonist’s intentions to what they did, and that is challenging to do here.
The film somewhat made up for this with its use of lighting and effects. Landon took a more theatrical approach with the lights, which is an entertaining and engaging twist. When the movie wanted its audience to focus on a specific character, a spotlight would shine on the character and the surrounding area would go black, adding flair to the film. The lighting elements, combined with the DigiDrop messages popping up on-screen, led to stunning cinematography.
Additionally, the casting is wonderfully done, and each character is introduced with his or her own story and moments to shine within the movie. The connection between Violet and her son is prominent throughout the entire film, as she constantly gravitates towards the idea of going home and being with her son. The uncomfortable chemistry between Henry and Violet on a first date, the protective attitude of the bartender, and the comically bad timing of the waiter, make this a must-see movie. “Drop” is eloquent and symbolic, with memorable moments and shocking twists that further enhance this story’s plot.
