Drop is the kind of pulse-pounding thriller that grips you from the very first moment and doesn’t let up for a single breath. Director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) delivers an unnervingly modern whodunnit that feels fresh, timely, and terrifyingly real. With a script that plays out in real-time over one harrowing evening in a single restaurant, Drop creates a psychological powder keg where trust is fleeting, danger is constant, and the digital age becomes your worst enemy.
What starts as a charming first date between Violet (Meghann Fahy) and Henry (Brandon Sklenar) at an upscale Chicago restaurant quickly descends into chaos when Violet begins receiving anonymous, deeply personal and increasingly terrifying “drops” on her phone. As the messages escalate and lives are threatened—including her young son’s—Violet is forced to obey her unseen tormentor’s demands, even as the night spins further into madness. The final directive? Kill her date.
Tension You Can Feel in Your Bones
The brilliance of Drop lies in its ability to keep viewers constantly on edge. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a steak knife from the restaurant table. With the action unfolding in real time, there’s no reprieve for Violet—or for the audience. Every moment feels urgent, and the masterful pacing ensures you never get too comfortable. The tracking shots, in particular, are stunning—flowing long takes that glide through the intricate restaurant set, letting viewers feel like they’re walking behind Violet as she spirals deeper into dread. This visual style doesn’t just keep the viewer engaged; it makes them feel complicit.
Production designer Susie Cullen’s creation of “Palate,” the restaurant where the entire night unfolds, is a marvel. It’s sleek, modern, and fully realized down to the smallest detail, giving a genuine sense of space and layout that only heightens the film’s claustrophobia. The way cinematographer Marc Spicer captures this environment—through moody lighting, precise camera movement, and beautifully framed tension—is nothing short of immersive brilliance.
A Masterclass in Suspenseful Sound
Much of the movie’s terror lives in its incredible sound design. Every ping of a drop notification lands like a bullet. Every footstep in a quiet corridor sends chills down your spine. Composer Bear McCreary’s score complements the atmosphere perfectly—subtle when it needs to creep in under your skin, bombastic when things go fully off the rails. But it’s the interplay of silence, environmental noise, and strategic music cues that builds the soundscape into something uniquely disturbing and intensely cinematic.
Performances That Ground the Madness
Meghann Fahy delivers an absolutely riveting performance as Violet. She carries the entire film with a visceral vulnerability and emotional authenticity that makes her descent into terror all the more compelling. Her character’s balance of fear, grit, and instinct gives us someone to root for, someone who feels achingly real. Fahy embodies the trauma survivor turned warrior, and it’s impossible not to root for her every step of the way.
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Brandon Sklenar is equally magnetic. His Henry feels almost too good to be true, and that ambiguity is the point. His performance teeters between charming and suspicious with effortless nuance. As Violet’s trust in him begins to crack, Sklenar’s subtle shifts keep us guessing. His calm energy, even as the night spirals, makes him the emotional anchor the audience clings to while navigating the chaos.
The Realism of the Violence—and the Realness of the Fear
One of the most standout aspects of Drop is how the action is portrayed. This isn’t stylized movie violence; it’s raw, chaotic, and uncomfortably realistic. Every physical altercation feels like it was choreographed for real people who don’t know how to fight, and that makes it so much more intense. The violence is clumsy, painful, and deeply human. Paired with phenomenal practical effects and precise digital enhancements, each blow, cut, or fall carries weight—and is elevated even further by bone-crunching, wince-inducing sound design.
This is a horror-thriller where the physicality is matched by psychological terror. The audience isn’t just scared for Violet; they are with her, every terrifying step of the way.
A Villain Hiding in Plain Sight
Part of what makes Drop so endlessly watchable is its mystery. With every diner and staff member a potential suspect, the film keeps audiences guessing until the very end. Every performance in the ensemble is carefully crafted to give just enough off-kilter energy to make you wonder: are they the one pulling the strings?
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And when the answer is finally revealed, it feels earned—not just shocking for the sake of a twist, but genuinely satisfying because of how the breadcrumbs were laid throughout the film.
Final Thoughts: Unrelenting, Unforgettable
Drop is a cinematic pressure cooker, one that doesn’t let go until the credits roll—and even then, you’ll find yourself thinking about it long after. It’s a lean, mean thriller executed with a sharp eye, stunning performances, and an almost unbearable sense of tension. With a brilliant concept rooted in today’s tech-driven paranoia, and an execution that rivals the best thrillers of the last decade, this is the kind of movie that demands to be seen in a theater with a packed, reactive audience.
You’ll gasp. You’ll squirm. You’ll love every second. And that’s why I give my Drop review a
9/10
Drop releases in theaters April 11, 2025.
About Drop
Written by: Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach
Directed by: Christopher Landon
Producers: Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Brad Fuller, Cameron Fuller
Executive Producer: Sam Lerner
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson
Synopsis
First dates are nerve-wracking enough. Going on a first date while an unnamed, unseen troll pings you personal memes that escalate from annoying to homicidal? Blood-chilling.
If your phone started dropping terrifying commands mid-date, would you trust your instincts or the stranger across from you? Are you ready for a thriller that unfolds in real-time and never lets up on the tension? Do you think you’d be able to spot the villain before it’s too late—or would you fall right into their trap? Let us know what you’re expecting from Drop—and who you think you’ll trust when the lights dim and the pressure rises, on social media!
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