Drop (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

PopEntertainment
Jun 10
3 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

DROP (2025)

Starring Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jeffery Self, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Ed Weeks, Benjamin Pelletier, Travis Nelson, Michael Shea, Sarah McCormack, Saoirse Hayden, Fiona Browne, Stephanie Karam, Gerry Brauders, Niamh McHenry and Barry O'Donnell.

Screenplay by Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach.

Directed by Christopher Landon.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 95 minutes. Rated PG-13.

First dates can be scary, but the new film Drop takes that syndrome to all new levels.

Once upon a time, we had to worry about things like awkward small-talk, whether or not you were eating or drinking too much, whether the other person was kind of a creep or rude to the wait staff, how much to spend, when and whether to bail.

Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy of White Lotus) would love to be dealing with these small issues.

Violet is in a weird place anyway. It is her first date in the years since her abusive husband died (somewhat mysteriously), and while she has become an abuse counselor professionally, she has never quite come to terms with her own past.

Therefore, when she meets Henry Campbell (Brandon Sklenar), a photographer working for the mayor who seems to be handsome, smart, empathetic and patient (he waits three months as Violet is mentally preparing herself to put herself out there), she finally takes the jump.

Maybe she should have stayed home, because she has perhaps the worst first date ever.

Not that it is Henry’s fault – at least not directly – he turns out to be as terrific as she could have hoped. However, soon after she arrives at the restaurant – a penthouse eatery with spectacular views of the city (supposedly Chicago, although the film was filmed in Ireland) – Violet starts getting mysterious message drops on her cell phone. She tries to ignore them for a while, but as they get more and more threatening, she finally checks in.

It turns out that her son and her babysitting sister (Violett Beane) have been taken hostage at her home. Someone in the restaurant is watching Violet, but she doesn’t know who it is. And if she does not do exactly what he (or she) demands, her son and sister will be killed.

She cannot tell anyone what is happening. She cannot leave the restaurant. She cannot disobey anything that is asked of her. Even the ladies room appears to be surveilled. Eventually the final plan comes to light – they want Violet to destroy some evidence he has on him and then to kill Henry.

Now that Drop is being released on video after a brief stint in theaters earlier this year, it is nice to catch up with this intriguing thriller. While it is not a perfect film, Drop is able to create a penetrating sense of isolation and paranoia – probably a good 75% of the film takes place in real time at the restaurant. The audience spends a good deal of the film’s running time trying to figure out who the mysterious texter is. (I kind of figured it out relatively early on, but it was really only a guess on my part.)

The film is even better due to the extremely good performance by Fahy, who holds everything together with ease and style. Others in the cast are terrific too, including Sklenar as the unfortunate date and Beane as the aunt who is also caught up in this scheme. Crisply directed by fright film veteran Christopher Landon (I still can’t believe that he is wholesome former TV star Michael Landon’s son), Drop is a pretty damned good genre film, which is all it ever wanted to be.

Alex Diamond