Movie Review: ‘Drop’ | Moviefone

‘Drop’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.

Opening in theaters on April 11th, ‘Drop’ sees director Christopher Landon, normally known for his blends of horror and comedy in full on Alfred Hitchcock mode, setting up a compelling situation and unleashing a whole host of tense, creative plot turns.

‘The White Lotus’ veteran Meghann Fahy stars in the new movie, which uses its limited, claustrophobic locations effectively.

Related Article: Director Christopher Landon Will Not Make the next ‘Scream’ Movie

Does ‘Drop’ send you the right amount of tension?

Landon has been best known for his inventive, more funny-than-flat-out-scary movies including two ‘Happy Death Day’ entries and serial killer body swap romp ‘Freaky.’ Following a less successful detour into more family-friendly horror comedy with ‘We Have a Ghost,’ he’s now in full thriller territory via ‘Drop.’

And it’s clearly a sphere he excels at –– while this is not a perfect film by any means, it’s certainly engaging and propulsive, anchored by a handful of good performances.

Script and Direction

While Landon often writes his own scripts, here he’s working from a screenplay by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach, a pair of stalwarts at production company Blumhouse, who have cranked out an effective, pacey little thriller.

Primarily set in one locale –– upscale Chicago restaurant Palate, which was built as a set for the movie –– it throws Meghann Fahy’s counsellor Violet into an unnerving situation. Already a little on edge since this is the first date she’s been on in years (and she’s coming out of an abusive relationship that ended in her violent, troubled husband’s death), Violet is further unsettled when mysterious messages start showing up on her phone, threatening her family if she doesn’t carry out some dangerous tasks.

Roach and Jacobs’ script builds the tension well, introducing a smattering of other characters including Henry (Brandon Sklenar), the handsome, charming man who has finally encouraged Violet to go on the date and Matt (Jeffery Self), the quirky, wannabe-improv-performer side hustling it as a waiter.

While the story loses a little something as it hurtles towards its conclusion, the ride is a fun one.

And Landon certainly knows how to bring this sort of movie to life, making the various twists work and ensuring that it’s infused with enough humor so as not to come across as a po-faced thriller.

Stylistically, it also makes impressive use of one impressively expansive location, and teamed with cinematographer Marc Spicer, Landon keeps things moving and looking good.

Cast and Performances

Meghann Fahy is the emotional and plot core of the movie here, giving Violet some well-chosen emotional sides even beyond the script. She’s just as adept at making you worry for the character as she is as cheering for her when she smartly makes moves to try and outwit the people threatening her family.

It’s a different role for Fahy, but it works really well, and she’s impressive in all aspects of the character, whether bonding with her sister or scrambling to figure out what is really going on.

As Henry, Brandon Sklenar has a little less to do, but he certainly brings the charm and some solid levels of emotion to his own character, a photographer who works for the city’s mayor and who is investigating some potentially dodgy dealings.

Sklenar is also able to bring the funny when needed and his chemistry with Fahy keeps things light even as the plot grows darker.

Adding comic relief is Jeffrey Self, who makes a meal of the relatively small part as Matt, the couple’s waiter. Whether he’s jauntily rattling off the specials or quietly cursing, “Jesus Christ” when Violet has asked to move tables, only to need to move right back (plot reasons), he’s a delight.

Elsewhere, there are entertaining turns from the likes of Reed Diamond as a man who is also dipping his toe into the dating world, and Violett Beane and young newcomer Jacob Robinson, who play Violet’s sister and son respectively.

Though the latter pair’s roles are naturally smaller, they both bring a healthy level of humanity to their performances, even when much of their screen time involves them being under threat.

Final Thoughts

If ‘Drop’ can’t always maintain the momentum of its rollercoaster middle chunk, and does sometimes stray into believability-pushing silliness, as a whole it’s one supremely entertaining ride.

Yes, it might not quite live up to the same level of bonkers fun as Landon’s previous efforts (particularly the ‘Happy Death Day’ movies), this is its own thing and a faithful use of Hitchcockian tension-building with an added technological flair.

What’s the plot of ‘Drop’?

Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed mother, is on a date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar) when she is terrorized by a series of anonymous messages to her phone. The caller instructs her to tell nobody, and follow increasingly malicious instructions, or her younger sister, Jen (Violett Beane), and her son, Toby (Jacob Robinson) will be killed, culminating with her being told to kill Henry.

Who is in the cast of ‘Drop’?

Meghann Fahy as Violet in ‘Drop’, directed by Christopher Landon. Photo: Universal Pictures.

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