DROP (2025)

Violet (Meghann Fahy) arrives at Palate, a swanky restaurant atop a Chicago skyscraper, for her first date since becoming a widow. In one of the most stressful first dates captured on film, Drop announces itself as a memorable ride of tension and emotions, about overcoming past baggage.

A therapist trying to get over her past abusive marriage, Violet’s now helping others and raising her five-year-old son. She’s unsure if she’s ready to dip her toe into the dating pool, but her sister Joan (Violett Beane) convinces her that now is the right time to meet the man she has been speaking to online for the past three months.

Her date is Henry (Brandon Sklenar), a pleasant, if nondescript, photographer who has the patience only a fictional character can have. When waiting for Henry to arrive at the restaurant, Violet receives her first drop (it’s called digital drop in the film, but is based on the very real AirDrop feature on Apple iPhones). It starts as mildly threatening memes, but soon becomes terrifying instructions telling her to kill her date. If she doesn’t follow the orders, her son and sister will die.

Over the next 95 minutes, Violet has to balance the nerves of a first date and hunting down the person sending her these increasingly violent drops. It’s an innovative and fresh angle on the concept. This has been done via text message and earpieces before, most recently in Netflix’s Carry-On (2024), but not by using the AirDrop feature.

The drop messages appear as graphics on-screen as she’s sent instructions setting Violet up as Henry’s killer. It starts a little jarringly, but soon feels like a natural part of the on-screen storytelling. These messages ultimately never feel like a gimmick, just a modern update on the thriller.

Palate is the perfect sterile, upmarket space for the action to unfold. The round restaurant is ceiling-to-floor glass, with a cheesy pianist (Ed Weeks) and a room of suspects for Violet to be wary of. Violet and Henry work out that to send a digital drop, you have to be within a 50ft radius, so the perpetrator must be in the restaurant.

The film manages to balance trying to find out who is sending the drops, Violet undertaking the tasks asked of her and the romance of meeting a man she genuinely likes. By jumping between these different genres, Drop never bores. The tasks the drops send her on get more and more ridiculous, and of course, she can’t tell anyone because the bad guys are in her house, ready to kill her son if she speaks a word.

All the supporting characters are naturally introduced to audiences from the awkward Richard (Reed Diamond) on a blind date to the camp waiter (Jeffery Self) who can’t wait to show off his improv skills and the feisty bartender, Cara (Gabrielle Ryan). It feels like a very real place with real diners and employees, which only helps the audience swallow the farcical set-up. For a high-concept film, Drop refreshingly remembers to set up the characters and the location.

While the supporting cast all excel. Audiences will have to look closely at the supporting actors, as many have similar visual characteristics. There’s a third-act reveal of a character that easily goes unnoticed, as multiple male characters resemble each other. The casting director could have benefited from hiring a more diverse cast for Drop.

The date in peril, Henry, is the least interesting character in the entire film. He’s a photographer, he’s nice in an entirely fictional way and comes with his own baggage. Henry is underwritten and feels like an afterthought in the grand scheme of the film. Perhaps it’s purposeful that the second most important character in the movie is the one the audience least gets to know. 

Drop doesn’t waste time setting up the plot or the set-up. Because it doesn’t bother to spend time on exposition, the audience doesn’t have time to pick apart the thin script. Not only does the basic concept require a suspension of belief, but so do the actions of those involved. Henry is the most patient man alive, as Violet’s actions become increasingly erratic. Realistically, he would have walked out during the first of her stunts. Violet also spends a strange amount of time distracted by minute details, despite the lives of loved ones being in danger.

The film loses its way in the final act. When Violet and Henry start to open up about their past, the film violently switches tone. Drop begins as a fun little thriller but soon swerves into being a heavy drama about domestic violence and abuse. This backstory is intended to provide a reason for Violet’s behaviour, but it feels too complex and doesn’t receive the time or space it deserves. In the final moments of the movie, the writing goes from slightly unbelievable to full-on ridiculous. While previous scenes had smoothly created tension using sleight of hand and Fahy’s acting skills, the end is pure Hollywood action. Not every movie has to end in car chases and shootouts, sometimes subtlety is as powerful as gunfire.

Director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) handles the high concept with a deft hand. The film predominantly takes place in the restaurant, which is used to its maximum potential. The camera slinks around this round space, following characters in unusual but highly entertaining ways. The camera adds to the unsettling tension, spinning and shaky as it follows Violet on her date from hell.

Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus) is Drop’s secret weapon, and Landon knows this. The film rarely leaves her side, following her through the restaurant. Fahy’s terrified face looking down at her phone delivers tension when the dialogue doesn’t. Even when the film pushes the audience’s suspension of belief to its limits, Fahy sells it. Despite being mostly set in one location, Drop never feels stagnant or dull. The film throws in development after development, constantly raising the stakes with new threats. Despite the pulpy writing, Drop is surprisingly nuanced and underplays the action to help build the tension.

USA • IRELAND | 2025 | 95 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Christopher Landon.
writers: Jillian Jacobs & Chris Road.
starring: Meghann Fahy, Branson Sklenar, Violett Beane & Jeffery Self.