Drop

There are slasher films and there are whodunnit thriller films, and typically never the twain would meet. However, with "Drop", we have a little of both--mostly it being a thriller. The thriller whodunnit is a winning combination as this film showcases. It's short and definitely cuts to the chase. 

Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy), is a widowed mother on her first date in years, who arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry Campbell (Brandon Slkenar) is more charming and handsome than she expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone. She is instructed to tell nobody and follow instructions or the hooded figure she sees on her home security cameras will kill Violet's young son, Toby (Jacob Robinson) and babysitting sister Jen (Violett Beane). Violet must do exactly as directed or everyone she loves will die, Her unseen tormentor's final directive? Kill her date, Henry,

Others to round out the cast are Reed Diamond as Richard, Gabrielle Ryan as Cara, Jeffery Self as Matt, Ed Weeks as Phil, Travis Nelson as Connor, Michael Shea as Blake, Sarah McCormack as Hostess and Ben Pelletier as Bearded/Masked man. 

This was rivetingly directed with grit and suspense by Christopher Landon ("Burning Palms" '10, "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" '14, "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" '15, "Happy Death Day" '17, "Happy Death Day 2U" '19, "Freaky" '20, "We Have a Ghost" '23) plus TV and a short. By his very resume, this filmmaker has certainly kept within his comfort zone, but when a certain genre works for you and you excel well, why not? The way he built the tension in this through Violet seemed realistic and more gripping. His pacing of the plot was amazing and also added to the calamity involved. It was written with grit and intensity by Jillian Jacobs ("Truth or Dare" '18, "Fantasy Island" '20) and Chris Roach ("Non-Stop" '14, "Truth or Dare" '18, "Fantasy Island" '20) plus TV. As aforementioned, this story builds slowly so as to let us see how much peril we see Violet is getting involved in and what makes that even more challenging is that she can't say anything lest her loved ones will die. Her facial expressions are so real as is Henry' s concern for her. Neither writer has a plethora of experience, but with this outing, they undoubtedly will receive more work. Lastly, considering the chemistry between Violet and Henry was strained in certain places of the story, they were still able to display an amazing chemistry throughout the film. If you like Roach's writing, his "Run" is in pre-production. 

If you like whodunnits or thrillers, this is a film you'll be right at home with. It's short, concise, with a tight script and engaging cast. It's tense, thrilling, riveting and definitely keeps you on the edge of your proverbial seat. Grab the popcorn for escapism at its best. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                      Rated: PG-13                                           96mins.