SXSW Review: ‘Drop’ is Equally Enthralling and Over-the-Top

Venturing back out into the world of dating after many years away from it is no easy feat, especially if that time off was spent in a relationship that didn’t end well. But it can be therapeutic to get back out there, even if the first try isn’t a home run. It can also be heavily triggering and traumatizing to venture into a situation where it’s impossible to predict how things will go. Drop takes that to the highest possible degree, giving one woman the worst night of her life on what just happens to be her very first date with someone special.

Violet (Meaghann Fahy) has horrific, violent memories of her ex’s final moments, but that’s all in the past, and now she’s going out for the first time. Her sister Jen (Violett Beane) arrives to take care of her son Toby (Jacob Robinson) and accost her outfit choices. She soon arrives at a swanky restaurant where she’s set to meet photographer Henry (Brandon Sklenar). He’s late, and before he gets there, she starts getting (off-brand) AirDrop requests from an unknown person, which she initially writes off as random harassment, only to quickly realize that she’s being targeted for a very specific purpose that demands her cooperation.

This film comes from director Christopher Landon, known for Freaky, Happy Death Day, and other horror features. Produced by Blumhouse Productions, it sets its tone right away with a moody opening credits sequences indicating a ticking clock and the mood that’s going to be established for this high-stakes first date that turns into something else altogether. While the identity of the dropper is a mystery, the seriousness of what they’re threatening is immediately conveyed by the image of a masked gunman in Violet’s home and a very explicit threat to Henry’s life if she doesn’t do everything she’s asked, which starts with ensuring that her date doesn’t even think about leaving.

This is a modern-day thriller that makes extensive use of technology, displaying the text of each message onscreen as if it’s part of a spoken conversation with Violet. That she’s the only one privy to them, once she’s clued in to the fact that Henry, who initially wants to help her identity the sender, is intricately involved with what they want her to do, adds to the suspense since she has to think fast and follow the impossible instructions given to her. Making it seem like she’s having a great time and not racking her brain for every possible way to save Toby and Henry at the same time is a difficult act, but it’s one that Violet – and Fahy – pull off well.

Drop is equal parts enthralling and over-the-top, taking considerable leaps in logic to construct its premise but wasting no time in diving right into the intensity and inescapability of the situation. This isn’t meant to be a movie where the plot makes all that much sense, but audiences are just as trapped in the middle and unable to go anywhere since they’re invested in Violet’s journey. Fahy takes on the challenge of this part admirably, throwing herself fully into the nervous energy necessary to play someone who has enough reservations before going on the date that still can’t possibly prepare her for what’s about to happen. Sklenar, seen last year in another kind of doomed romance in It Ends with Us, is entirely likeable and sympathetic, and audiences will root for him to survive too even if his odds don’t seem great at the outset.

The twin endgame here is to discover the identity of the sender and find a way to outsmart them, and even if audiences are a step or two ahead of Violet, there’s still enough in the way of plot twists and stark developments to retain interest from start to finish. As the film approaches its end, it dives headfirst into ridiculous territory, but this is the kind of film that, perhaps for SXSW, encourages enthusiastic applause and an embrace of the absurd. This is entertainment for those looking for a good thrill and nightmare fuel for those who would never want to even think about this kind of thing happening, and that combination may be just perfect for a large swath of moviegoers.

Movie Rating: 7/10