Drop Movie Review: There’s something invigorating about a movie that does not apologise for being pure entertainment. Christopher Landon’s Drop is a lean, tightly wound thriller that is fast, sleek, and full of jarring twists. Set almost entirely within a single upscale Chicago restaurant with just a few characters, Drop is a modern-day thrill ride powered by new-age tech and old-school suspense mechanics.
The film stars Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus) as Violet, a woman still carrying the trauma of a violent relationship. In a chilling prologue, we witness a brutal confrontation with her abusive ex, the father of her son. However, he ends up dead and the circumstances surrounding his death are left murky, a mystery that wavers around till the almost the end of the movie. Years later, Violet hesitantly re-enters the dating world, agreeing to meet Henry (Brandon Sklenar of 1923) for a first date at a high-rise fine dining spot called Palate.
Violet arrives early, while Henry is seen running late, and what starts as a typical evening quickly descends into something far more sinister when Violet receives a strange digital message via an app called “DigiDrop.”
The message—sent from someone inside the restaurant—is the first of many, each increasingly disturbing. Before long, the drops reveal a masked intruder holding Violet’s sister and son hostage at home. Their lives hang in the balance unless Violet follows every instruction without question—or help.
Drop revels in the high-wire tension of isolation in a public space. Violet is surrounded by people—a pianist, a blind dater, a bartender—but utterly alone. The film’s central tension lies in her struggle to signal for help without breaking the rules set by her faceless tormentor. I
Thankfully, the film dodges the tired “man comes to the rescue” narrative. While Sklenar’s Henry is a steady presence, this is very much Violet’s story. Fahy delivers a career-best performance, bringing urgency, vulnerability, and fierce resolve.
Landon, best known for genre-bending hits like Happy Death Day and Freaky, leaves behind the overt comedy for something more grounded here. Yet he still manages to infuse the film with momentum and style.
While the final villain reveal doesn’t quite land with a bang, Drop is more about the experience than the explanation. You may not remember every twist, but you’ll remember how it made you feel.
