‘Drop’ SXSW Review – Christopher Landon’s Stylized Thriller Pays Tribute to Suspense Greats

Director Christopher Landon has a proven track record for helming zippy fun horror, from the Happy Death Day films to Freaky to last year’s YA horror-lite We Have a Ghost. Landon’s latest, Drop, continues that streak while expanding his oeuvre with a more mature effort that leaves behind the teen slasher gimmicks. This first-date gone wrong thriller serves as the filmmaker’s propulsive, infectious tribute to Wes Craven’s Red Eye, resulting in a highly stylized dramatic thriller that’ll leave you fist-pumping to “Yahtzee!”

Drop opens with a harrowing scene of domestic abuse that not only earns instant rooting interest for heroine Violet (Meghann Fahy) but helps inform the choices she’ll make when faced with unthinkable pressure. Like, for example, her extreme nerves when embarking on her first date since her abusive ex passed. After gentle coaxing and help from her sister Jen (Violett Beane), who’s babysitting Violet’s precocious son Toby (Jacob Robinson), Violet sets out to meet date Henry (Brandon Sklenar) at the trendy high-rise restaurant Palate. First date jitters transform into an intense whodunnit when airdrops to Violet’s phone eventually reveal a masked intruder in her house, waiting for the command to kill her son lest Violet comply with a murder assignment.

(from left) Violet (Meghann Fahy) and Henry (Brandon Sklenar) in Drop, directed by Christopher Landon.

The screenplay by Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach takes a fairly simple, straightforward approach. Drop never gets more complicated than its setup suggests, instead focusing on claustrophobic suspense and paranoia as Violet attempts to comply without getting detected while trying to deduce who in the restaurant might be in on the plot. There’s a commendable efficiency to the storytelling, not just for its brisk pacing but in that every detail matters.

There are a few key ingredients at play that elevate this lean, effective thriller into crowd-pleasing stunner: Fahy’s magnetic and deeply empathetic portrayal of Violet and Landon’s clever direction. On the latter, Drop begins as an unassuming whodunnit that plainly lays out all of the suspects- and that’s practically the entire restaurant- before ramping up the dramatics with insanely stylized flair. Landon isn’t just tipping his hat to Craven here, but suspense masters Alfred Hitchcock and Brian de Palma through chiaroscuro lighting, dutch angles, extreme closeups, and striking music by Bear McCreary to immerse us fully in Violet’s plight. The higher the stakes, the more Landon leans into the visual flourishes, escalating the suspense tenfold.

Meghann Fahy as Violet in Drop, directed by Christopher Landon.

While Drop clocks in at a lean 95-minute runtime, its pauses to flesh out Violet’s backstory and her dates, to a lesser extent, do work against the ticking time bomb feel, even if necessary. That they’re the only two characters to receive any character development winds up leaving most reduced to archetypical roles. While that leaves the suspect list shorter than expected, it’s tough not to fall for the comedic charms of Jeffery Self’s try-hard waiter Matt, rivaling Beane for the film’s levity standout.

It’s a minor complaint, though, when the aim is to deliver an exhilarating time at the movies, and on that Landon delivers in spades. It’s a swift, fun thriller that’s impeccably crafted right down to the production design, featuring a cast that seems to be having as much fun as Landon is flexing his creative muscles while paying tribute to the greats. Here’s to hoping that Landon continues down this path, because Drop has all the right ingredients that make it such an insanely enjoyable edge-of-your-seat thriller.

Drop made its world premiere at SXSW and releases in theaters on April 11, 2025.

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