Christopher Landon, the man behind Happy Death Day and Freaky, directs Drop, an action-thriller that offers an entertaining 90-minute ride with hits of creatives invention, mainly brought to life by a strong leading cast and an exciting finale.

Written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, Drop takes us into the world Violet (Meghann Fahy), a recently widowed now-single-parent mother on her first date in ages. Primarily set in a fancy, city skyline restaurant, where she’s meeting Henry (Brandon Sklenar) for her night out, things start well, Henry is charming and far more compassionate than she expects, but Violet is receiving anonymous air drops on her phone that become more and more aggressive, and she’s rightly distracted as the messages move from being ‘probably prom kids’ to threatening not only hurt her kid at home (being babysat by her sister Jen – played by Violett Beane), but Violet is also ordered to kill Henry, and she must deal with all these pressures and plans without telling anyone around her.

Playing into the modern paranoia in the digital age, where security cameras and phone tech absolutely dominate our lives like never before, Drop is a fun thriller that never excessively challenges the viewer beyond making you try to work out who might behind the terror that Violet is going through. In a classic Scream-sense… everybody is a suspect! While the ‘first date’ setting is the main focus, there is an opening sequence that gives us more background on Violet, as she was previously subject to domestic violence, which led up the death of a former partner. The film leans on elements of abuse and PTSD as a result, but it’s never truly mined in a deeper psychological sense, it’s visually represented to offer empathy regarding her fear of going out a date in the first place, which is clearly rational.

What follows is a series of ever-increasing dramatic situations via air drops and actions that Violet has to do to survive, and all the while her date becomes increasingly confused over why he should be there but Brandon Sklenar’s Henry plays it kindly, and while he could be a suspect – like a series of other characters in the restaurant, the actions happening also seem to be connected to him as well. But despite the fun of this unknown, Drop suffers in setting up its other suspects. If its goal is to emulate a heightened Alfred Hitchcock type mystery, as the setup proposes, some of the other characters can be quickly dismissed (due to actions you’ll be able to see) and if you’re a fan of the genre, I also feel you can read the suggestibility of who’s responsible due to some early actions.

On the positive side of proceedings, Meghann Fahy is key to keeping it moving and gives an excellent performance, slowly falling apart but also trying to stay in control of whatever she can. Directorially, Landon uses some inventive techniques which recalls a theatre-like setting in many moments. The restaurant resembles a gilded cage, equal-parts luxury, and limitation, and I loved the use of spotlight to suggest certain suspects as well – but this isn’t pushed enough. There’s a clever gradual shift in camera angles (including, of course, the classic Dutch angle) and increased intensity, and a very welcome change in sound when the chat between Henry and Violet focuses and silence surrounds a key conversation. However, when we’re into the world of what tone to set, there’s an imbalance in the comic to drama level which can take you out of the moment, as it can often be breezy after concentrated trauma, and you’re not sure whether this is supposed to lighten the mood or just reveal character nervousness.

As a whole, Drop offers a 90s/00s thriller vibe, I felt a brief essence of Panic Room but it’s certainly not as strong as that timeless Fincher/Foster effort, and in a digital film era, it can feel a little too crisp and shiny, and would have benefitted from a gritter design edge – although the music compositions from Bear McCreary does help that element. Overall the film is saved by a core cast who are likeable, and then that stronger final third that ups the anticipation. If you’re looking for an easy watch that’s inventive enough to offer a fun thriller that plays cleverly on the paranoia of an untamed technological digital era, then this is certainly up that street.

The Special Features are all featurettes which short runtimes, it includes A Recipe for Thrills: Making Drop, A Palate for Panic, and Killer Chemistry which, in order, let the cast and crew discuss how the scene goes together, give a deeper look at the creation of the operational restaurant, plus interviews Fahy and Sklenar who discuss their scenes, and reveal how they tried to keep their characters grounded during the growing escalation. There’s also feature film commentary with the director to round things off.

Drop is available on Blu-ray and DVD now from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and distributed by Spirit Entertainment: https://amzn.to/4lCW6L0