Drop

Drop
Starring Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson
Directed by Christopher Landon

There's times where I wonder why so many people like certain movies, one of which is 2020's "The Invisible Man" which is critically hailed as a fantastic horror film, but personally it was one with so many plot holes I wondered how it got so much acclaim. Elisabeth Moss was excellent and the story of a battered woman being gaslit into believing she's crazy is a tough theme to tackle and they did do that well, but when it came to the overall way it told the story it had a lot to be desired in my mind, as one point it seemed too simple while other times it was overly complicated and exaggerated. "Drop" is another film - one that's gotten critical acclaim but I don't see why. Like "The Invisible Man" it deals with spousal battery but this time its the peripheral story, with the main thrust being a first date going terribly wrong. While a suspenseful movie, there's so much suspension of disbelief for such a seemingly grounded tale it takes away from the main thrust of the movie.

After the death of her abusive husband, Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy) decides to step out and go on a date with photographer Henry Campbell (Brandon Sklenar) who's she's been talking to on dating apps. She leaves her young son Toby (Jacob Robinson) in the care of her sister Jen (Violett Beane) and meets Henry at the fancy sky experience restaurant Palate. What begins as a charming yet nervous outing turns to terror when Violet receives Digi-Drops of memes from someone who seems to know her, before offering violent threats to kill her date before her son dies, and she discovers through home cameras that there's someone in her home. Her phone having been cloned she can't call the cops, and has to do what the unknown texter wants her to do.

"Drop" is one of those movies that makes it seem like its highly plausible, yet also improbable at the same time. The unknown texter not only knows everything about Violet and her family, but also has hacked into the restaurant's system so he can see everything she does at any given moment, no matter where she is, and acts like an omnipotent being that knows everything, which is frustrating because you know it'll just be scene after scene of Violet trying to do something to get help with each attempt being futile, and my eyes kept rolling so much I was afraid they would fall out of their sockets.

While the film does touch on the issues of domestic abuse and tying to come out of it, those moments are few and far between and serve almost as an excuse for Violet's odd behavior when it doesn't really factor into it. When Henry notices things she's doing that's contradictory, she goes into a story of her abusive husband, knowing full well it's really because she's trying not to kill him despite the threats made against her son's life for the contrary. She's shady to all hell, and if I was Henry I would've peaced out within the first five minutes, but he seemingly understands her constant need to go to the bathroom, tearing up for no reason, being flighty in her mannerisms and every other red flag you could imagine.

It's a shame this was directed by Christopher Landon, best known for his horror/comedies "Happy Death Day" and "Freaky," but here there's no comedy to be had (apart from the unintentional, such as the final half of the film where the slow-burn turns into a raging volcano instantly) and little to no character depth. Violet is a woman struggling to get back at there after an abusive relationship, and she has a young son she'll do anything for - and that's all we know about her. Henry is a photographer for the mayor, and that's about as much as we know about him. Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar have absolutely no chemistry, and their constant back and forth would've worked if it was a short film, but for a feature length film having Violet repeat the standard lines ("who are you?" "what do you want?" "why are you doing this?") and her constant red flag behavior drags on at a snail's pace, before the aforementioned volcano erupts in nonsensical violence and action that again takes away from the believability of it all. To me, this film dropped the ball on every level, offering another subpar thriller with an obvious ending and lackluster performances.

The Score: C-