by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $13.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan Spring
Intro:
… an engaging Hitchcockian thriller with a very loose relationship with reality.
Dating in 2025 must be a shudder-inducing nightmare. For a start, the chance that you’ll end up with a terminally online lunatic is high, so get ready to endure endless, mawkish regurgitations of whatever the day’s One True Opinion is. Hearing about which latest article of popular culture is “problematic” or that “Andrew Tate has some good ideas, actually” is enough to turn anyone celibate. Plus, there’s the cost, the awkwardness and the chance that a mysterious stranger might try to get you to kill your date. This last very specific example comes from director Christopher Landon’s (Happy Death Day, Freaky) latest flick, Drop, an engaging Hitchcockian thriller with a very loose relationship with reality.
Drop tells the tale of Violet (Meghann Fahy), a single mum with a dark past, who wants to finally get back out there. She does so with the most patient man in the world, hunky Henry (Brandon Sklenar), a tall drink of water with whom she’s been chatting online for three months. The date at the flash Chicago restaurant Palate starts smoothly enough, but soon Violet starts getting digital drops from some rando. At first, it’s just harmless memes, but things soon turn dark, and Violet begins to receive very specific instructions and if she doesn’t obey them … Her kid’s cactus!
It’s a neat, Hitchcockian premise for a modern-day thriller and Landon cleverly uses numerous visually interesting techniques to underline the tension and paranoia that poor bloody Violet endures. Both Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar do fine work and have great chemistry together, which is essential because much of the action features the pair sitting at a table. It does have to be said that the story flies off a cliff in the third act. Any attempt at maintaining at least a baseline sense of narrative credibility pissbolts out the door and the story proudly wears its underpants on its head. It remains entertaining, mind you, but you might want to give your sense of disbelief the night off as suspending it will not get the job done.
Ultimately, Drop is a slick, well-executed thriller with charming, attractive leads, plenty of twists and turns and a plot that stands up to very little scrutiny. It’s not quite as deft as Landon’s earlier horror/comedies but will likely appeal to cinemagoers in the mood for light, easily digestible thrillers.
It also might encourage you to stay out of the dating scene and just wait until the sex robots come along.
