Drop review (2025)

Drop confirms that no one does modern day whodunit thrillers better than Christopher Landon. This is a fun “everyone’s a potential suspect” film backed by a strong ensemble cast and exciting direction that leans into its unpredictable setup.

Landon, the writer/director of Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2 U and Freaky, focuses on directing for this latest project that tackles two nearly similarly frightening subject matters: cell phone harassment and first dates.

Violet (Meghann Fahey, The White Lotus) is finally getting back out on the dating scene. It’s the first time she’s gone out on a date since her now five-year-old son Toby (Jacob Robinson) was a baby. At least she doesn’t have to worry about some careless babysitter as her sister, Jen (Violett Beane, The Flash), is hanging with her nephew tonight.

Violet’s date, Henry (Brandon Sklenar), seems like a pretty decent dude. Now it’s time for the date at the lavish Palate restaurant. It’s a high-end place with a view to die for — and by the end of Drop, someone might just take the plunge. Like their three-month social media interaction would suggest, Henry is charming, thoughtful and not at all a total creep.

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Unfortunately for Violet, her refreshing first date is about to get wrecked by an intrusive restaurant guest (or is it an employee?) who keeps sending a digital drop on her phone. Initially the drop messages are innocuously vague memes and gifs that become increasingly more sinister culminating in the mysterious drop suspect telling her to check her house’s security feed. A masked man is roaming the house and Jen has no idea there’s a dangerous stranger in the house.

If Violet doesn’t comply exactly with the mysterious stranger’s demands, both Jen and Toby are going to get killed. Truth or Dare screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach do a solid job of introducing potential suspects.

Anyone could be the texter on the other end. Maybe it’s the kind waitress Cara (Gabrielle Ryan, Power Book IV: Force) or the sleazy, boozy longue piano player Phil (Ed Weeks). It also could be the hostess (Sarah McCormack), the hyper waiter Matt (constant scene stealer Jeffery Self); Connor (Travis Nelson), the guy constantly on his cell phone or fellow first dater Richard (Reed Diamond, Moneyball).

Landon gets creative with how he stages Drop utilizing sweeping camera angles, dramatic pans and faster paced back and forth shots to keep up with conversations. The text overlays on the screen are a welcome means of showing the back-and-forth exchanges without having to look from an over the shoulder perspective at Violet’s phone for most of the film.

Fahey makes for a very enjoyable lead. She gives Violet a likable presence who can get rattled while she’s constantly trying to figure out a way to navigate the stranger’s demands and determine their identity. Violet also has some baggage from her past she’s struggling to overcome, which helps give her some additional layers besides plucky thriller protagonist.

Similarly, Sklenar provides a steady, stabilizing performance leaving just enough doubt that Henry isn’t as perfect as he seems. Ryan, McCormack, Weeks and Self offer such strong supporting performances that it would be fun to see the Palate staff show up in another Blumhouse Production film.

Drop has a dastardly clever premise that the cast pulls off superbly making this a thriller well worth checking out.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

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