James Whitehead
Blumhouse Studios latest thriller “Drop” is currently playing and poses the terrifying question of “how dangerous is dating in your 40’s?”
Drop follows the story of widowed-mother Violet, played by Meghann Fahy, on her first date, as she looks to get back into the dating world; with all the perils that go with it. The big twist revealed in the trailers is, once her date starts, she begins to receive threatening messages from within the restaurant, to choose between the life of her son and the life of her date Henry, played by Brandon Sklenar.
At points the plot of Drop does become farfetched, demanding you to temporarily suspend belief. But the emotionally authentic performances of the leads, Violett and Henry, help to ground the film and prevent eyes from rolling when reality is stretched. This twist on the phone-horror tale is inventive and modern, with the fake, in-story “DigiDrop App” being a real-world placeholder for iDrop. The film does well to show the potential fears and horrors that can be created through modern technology. Playing on a real fear and concern of the world.
Director Christopher Landon’s eye for engaging and creative camera use helps to add depth and intrigue into the story, preventing the film from becoming flat and predictable. The short runtime of 95 minutes and the energy of the camerawork help to keep the film well-paced and entertaining throughout, even if the third-act action comes across as somewhat underwhelming.
Landon, known for his work on Blumhouse’s “Happy Death Day” adds another fun and interesting thriller into his body of work. Whilst I’m confident you will watch better thriller’s this year, there’s enough thought and care that goes into “Drop” for me to be able to recommend for you to see the film, at the very least on streaming. But I had enough fun to recommend fans of the genre to watch whilst it’s currently in cinemas.
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