Movie Review: DROP

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: April 11th, 2025 / 03:01 AM

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Meghann Fahy, Brendan Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Sarah McCormack, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Ben Pelletier, Michael Shea
Writers: Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach
Director: Christopher Landon
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: April 11, 2025

The title of DROP refers to a short text message. It also probably refers to the vertiginous setting of an upscale high-rise-topping restaurant, where much of the action takes place.

DROP begins with a nasty bang. A woman (Meghann Fahy) is being brutally beaten, kicked, and threatened with a gun by a hysterical man (Michael Shea). We learn more about the specifics of the situation in flashbacks throughout the film.

Cut to a few years later. The woman, Violet, is a psychotherapist who specializes in present and past victims of domestic abuse. Widowed – that hysterical man was her husband – Violet is a single mom to now-five-year-old Toby (Jacob Robinson).

Tonight, Violet’s younger sister Jen (Violett Beane) has come over to babysit. The occasion – Violet’s first date since the violent end of her marriage. Violet met the prospective suitor through a dating app and she’s not sure she’s ready, but Jen is a cheerleader for big sis getting out of the house and having some fun. Of course, Violet brings her phone with her in case Jen needs to reach her.

Violet’s date is Henry (Brendan Sklenar), a tech-savvy photographer who certainly seems to be a nice guy. The venue is Palate, a trendy eatery atop one of Chicago’s skyscrapers. (In reality, DROP was shot in Ireland, but since its only locations are Palate, Violet’s home and a few darkened streets, no discrepancies are detectable.)

Then Violet starts getting annoying texts on her phone. She ignores them as long as possible. From the form of the texts, Henry deduces (without reading them) that they are coming from someone within fifty feet of Violet’s location, so whoever it is must be in the restaurant.

At last, Violet opens one of the texts – which shows her video from her home security system of a masked man with a gun in her house. Further texts inform Violet that if she reaches out for help in any way, Toby and Jen will be killed. Finally, the unknown texter demands that Violet kill Henry.

The script by Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach won’t let us fault Violet for lack of ingenuity in her efforts to get assistance. (In fact, under the circumstances, we may feel she’s making a few too many.) She also manages to keep Henry at the table under increasingly challenging circumstances.

Director Christopher Landon and the writers keep us guessing as to who the perpetrator might be, providing plenty of eccentric suspects on hand. Better, they also maintain our curiosity as to how Violet can possibly extricate herself from this trap.

Fahy endows Violet with heart, conviction, and qualities that make us believe she may really be up to the occasion, however much she may despair. Sklenar exudes decency, Beane is likable, and Robinson is natural. The supporting cast has standouts that include Jeffery Self as an over-sharing waiter, Reed Diamond as a man on an awful blind date, and Gabrielle Ryan as a perceptive bartender.

Landon propels the pace swiftly and stages physical altercations deftly. There are moments that try to hard for comedy, but DROP earns some legitimate dark laughs from Violet’s ability to think fast.

DROP doesn’t do anything astonishing, but it fulfills its mandate to keep us on our toes throughout.

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A serviceable thriller set during an eventful first date

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