You have to feel for some moviemakers and Christopher Landon has had a rollercoaster year in some respects. Even if you ignore his many contributions to writing and producing a plethora of genre entries, especially the Paranormal Activity movies (and helming one of the better entries, The Marked Ones), he has made a significant mark on the horror market from the director’s chair. These include the horror/comedies Happy Death Day, Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Happy Death Day 2U, Freaky, and We Have a Ghost. So, when it was announced in 2023 that he got the gig for filming Scream 7, he was ecstatic about it and the horror community was interested in seeing the results. However, as with most things in the world now, it all turned horribly wrong pretty quickly. This led to him leaving the project with the frowny statement: “It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare”. It also led to the obligatory and depressing death threats across social media for the poor bloke. But when one door closes… you can open it again… because that’s how doors work. So, after that malarkey, Landon turned to this project as his next film release. Drop is a (let’s be honest) straightforward psychological thriller, but it does wear its many genre influences on its cinematic sleeve. It stars Meghann Fahy, who is probably best known to international audiences for her part in Season 2 of The White Lotus and the Netflix movie The Perfect Couple. After some good reactions from this year’s SXSW festival, the movie is now on release in the US and UK. So, alrighty then. It’s a date.

 

After a strikingly good opening credit sequence, we’re introduced to a bloody and battered Violet (Fahy) at a pivotal and traumatic moment in her life. Some years later, she is being coerced to go on a first date with the potentially-too-good-to-be-true Henry (Brandon Sklenar), with whom she matched on a dating app. The coercer is Violet’s sister (Violett Beane as Jen), who is itching for her to get back on the social scene and has arranged to babysit her young son (Jacob Robinson as Toby) to do so. After some wardrobe changes, she arrives at the swanky high-rise restaurant where she has arranged to meet Henry and encounters some other folks on a night out. Audience, meet our suspects. Suspects, meet your audience. After a slight delay, Henry arrives and following some awkward silences, they seem to be getting along well…apart from the annoying memes that are being remotely dropped to Violet’s phone. The messages soon turn sinister and start to threaten the lives of her sister, son, and Henry. Seeing as the drops need to be from someone within a fifty-foot radius, someone in that restaurant wants her to do something seriously bad… and we don’t mean giving a one-star review on TripAdvisor.

 

The aforementioned credit sequence sets the tone for what is a refreshing (if daft) take on a modern thriller. A progressive montage of household objects being destroyed over the titles, all accompanied by an awesome score from the always-reliable Bear McCreary (who continues to deliver the goods throughout the film with a dramatic soundtrack). It’s like something that Alfred Hitchcock would come up with in partnership with Saul Bass if they were still making movies. Consider the nutshell occupied because that’s exactly what “Drop” is. Landon has made a contemporary nonsense-thriller that is full of MacGuffins and red herrings, all whilst being supremely entertaining and thrilling as possible for what it is. There are issues, which (as always) we’ll get to shortly, but otherwise, it’s a glorious love letter to the intimate shockers of Alfred H and Brian De Palma at their peak. If that sounds a little unlikely in this age of bombastic explosions and cynical one-liners, just think of an update of Rope (1948), Phone Booth (2002), Snake Eyes (1998), or Nick of Time (1995), which place their leads in real-time jeopardy, and you’ll get a feel for the pace and intent.

 

Landon fills the movie with a whole host of visual trickery that enlivens the situation and echoes some of the Hitchcock and De Palma styles. Most prominent is the manipulation of the “DigiDrop” messages into the cinematic space. From the common-but-mildly-threatening memes that start the cat-and-mouse game, the text soon becomes emboldened and fills the screen with threats and genuinely disturbing statements. It’s not wholly original, as most horrors and thrillers that use social media as a plot point will do this. But it’s done particularly well here, going as far as becoming part of the scenery and even being reflected in restroom mirrors. It matches the dynamics, looks great, and establishes the antagonist as a viable threat despite their anonymity. On top of this, we get other neat examples of camerawork, such as literal spotlights on potential suspects, zooms away from Violet as she becomes more isolated, dynamic camera somersaults, and a classic “Goodfellas”-type one-take pan across the restaurant that wanders away from the lead characters to set the scene.

 

All pretty good stuff, but it still wouldn’t work without a compelling turn from the lead actor. Luckily the film gets a glowing performance from Fahy that marks her abilities as a lead. Mostly known for her TV work, she kills it here, being intelligent, compassionate, and likeable in all the right beats. Importantly for something like this, it doesn’t feel like she’s making dumb decisions, and her ingenuity makes Violet an easy heroine to root for. Plus, the fact that the unseen villain comes across as such a dick in their online posts and actions is nicely positioned. It’s easily comparable to the outstanding interpretations that Landon got from Jessica Rothe from the Happy Death Day films and Kathryn Newton in the underrated Freaky. Fahy could easily turn to horror and more thrillers here, although that doesn’t seem likely in the near future (judging by IMDB anyway). Without giving anything away, the villain (when revealed) is nicely played as well, although it does go a bit “Captain Hook” towards the end.

 

What is also nice to note is that the theatrical trailers have not spoilt the proceedings to a great extent (apart, annoyingly, from the climatic “fall”) and are glimpsed out of context. Everything else, even the memes, is framed or presented in a different way which maintains surprises or ensures the unexpected. There are some lovely modern touches to the narrative, aside from the importance of the text messages and the use of remote cameras. Realistic awkward silences are incorporated into the screen time, the downsides of modern dating are explored, attitudes to toxic masculinity are framed, and reactions are (mostly) realistic and believable. This is emphasised by many people believing that Violet is somewhat unhinged as the night goes on (increasing her isolation and feelings of desperation), including her “dream date” and others that she comes into contact with… who may/may not be her tormentor.

 

So the set-up and content are all solid and entertaining, not to mention the execution, pace, and visuals. There is a reason why it hasn’t scored a little higher in the ratings though. The final act is just goofy. All of that tension earned and believability (at least on Violet’s side) literally goes out the window with a slightly underwhelming revelation and a frantic set of events that just rolls the eyes. It’s a bit of a shame as it stretches the good faith and somewhat eclipses just how good the first three-quarters of the plot is. Instead, we get unlikely occurrences (since when did the upper floors of skyscrapers become pressurised?!), action-movie injuries (always in the shoulder and side of the stomach, never the head or heart… don’t mind me, I’ll just walk this fatal gunshot/stab-wound off), crowbarred-in car chases, and last-minute saves. It’s just all a bit generic and formulaic after the inventive bulk of the running time. Never mind. If you live with that moment of middle-of-the-roadness, the rest makes up for it. Also, you can entertain yourself to guess when the single use of the word “Fuck” will be allowed in this US PG-13 production. Always a good mini-game to have with yourself and laugh at the ethics of the US rating system.

 

So that’s the verdict. Drop is a great modern, update of a natty Hitchcockian thriller, up until the wheels come off at the ending. Effortlessly stylish in execution, you sort of wish that they made more films like this that deliver invention over spectacle and highlight likeable characters in believable peril. All right, we’re stretching the concept to cover it as a horror film, but it is a cracking thriller that gets really stabby, shooty, woundy, and killy at the end… so we can live with ourselves. Go see it and for the romantics among the genre community, it makes for (somewhat ironically) an excellent date movie. Just lower your expectations a little towards the end and try not to overthink it too much. And leave your phone at home…