Christopher Landon’s Drop is an intense delight from beginning to end mostly because of the charisma of the two leads, Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar. Violet Gates (Fahy) and Henry Campbell (Sklenar) have been Facetimeing for the past three months and are finally ready for their first date at Palate, the new, ritzy restaurant at the top of a downtown skyscraper. It is a hard night for Violet as her son, Toby (Jacob Robinson), has unnamed mental issues and will be left home with Violet’s younger sister, Jen (Violett Beane). It is also Violet’s first date since her physically and psychologically abusive ex-husband was killed sometime back.
Buy Drop (Collector’s Edition) Blu-rayAlmost as soon as Violet arrives at Palate, she receives a text from Henry that he is running ten minutes late. She also begins to receive Digi-Drops on her phone from an untraceable number. Digi-Drops cannot be used across long distances; so, whoever is sending her increasingly more and more threatening Digi-Drops is inside the restaurant. As with all thrillers, we must be introduced to a wide array of characters early in the movie without knowing just who, exactly, is the culprit. When Violet arrives at Palate, there are plenty of suspects on the loose. The greeter, the bartender, the pianist, the new waiter, the other customers, and an older gentleman waiting for his blind date to arrive. Whoever is threatening Violet is able to keep a tight leash on her and has most of the restaurant under close surveillance.
Violet is sent Drops of videos from within her own house. She witnesses her sister violently cold-cocked with the blunt end of a pistol. Second, she sees her son thrown into and locked within his room. Violet is told that if she deviates from any part of the plan, then Toby will be instantly killed. But this has nothing to do with Toby and Violet and everything to do with Henry. Violet is also instructed to take the SIM card from Henry’s camera and destroy it in the women’s restroom. Next, she is given a vial of poison and instructed to covertly slip it into Henry’s drink. It turns out Henry is the mayor’s photographer and his photos have uncovered graft and other crimes. Violet is meant to be the patsy for Henry’s death.
Drop is Hitchcockian in all the good ways a thriller can be. From the “every woman” confronted by an unknown, cold, calculated killer. That constant sense of unfairness for the victim. The thrill of seeing how somebody will escape such a dangerous situation. The only drawback here is that the viewer will be able to come up with twenty less complex ways to get that SIM card from Henry, and certainly another twenty ways to kill him that are far simpler than the current plan.
Bonus Features:
- Feature Commentary with Director Christopher Landon
- A Recipe for Thrills: Making Drop (7 min)
- A Palate for Panic (5 min)
- Killer Chemistry (4 min)
The bonus features don’t add a whole lot to the viewing experience, though there are some interesting insights in the feature commentary with Christopher Landon. Despite a few plot holes in the plans of the baddies, Drop is an excellent thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.
