Universal Pictures starts the year in thrilling fashion with ‘Drop’
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
This review contains spoilers.
About a month ago, on March 12, I attended an advanced screening of “Drop,” a Universal Pictures film. As I entered the Landmark Aquarius Theater right outside campus in the rain — after an embarrassing Uber blunder — I really had no idea what to expect. Having skipped the trailer to avoid spoilers, all I had to go on was the synopsis: Violet (Meghann Fahy), a widowed mother, goes on her first date since her son was born. The night starts out well when suddenly, a series of mysterious “drops” sent to her phone instruct her to carry out increasingly threatening tasks — the last of which is to kill Henry (Brandon Sklenar), her date.
The first 15 or so minutes didn’t leave me with much hope. I’m not a fan of horror or gore personally, so as sinister music crept up in the background of otherwise innocent scenes, I had a feeling I was in for a scarier experience than I had anticipated. Mundane actions like Violet boarding the elevator or speaking to the overly-curious bartender were overtaken by a creeping orchestral melody, and I wondered if a jump scare or two was in store. We learn quickly that Violet is a therapist for domestic violence survivors — a detail that frames the rest of the almost two-hour film and makes the protagonist easy to root for.
If anyone deserves the most credit for making this film enjoyable to watch, it’s the editor, Ben Baudhuin. The premise of “Drop” relies on messages sent by phone: all the threats Violet receives are delivered in AirDrop-esque form, and Baudhuin does an impressive job of integrating the digital aspect of the plot to real life. Digitized words float through the restaurant’s atmosphere and begin to seem like they’re really there. At one point, the security camera footage from Violet’s home is plastered onto the walls of a small bathroom stall like an eccentric wallpaper.
The stakes feel higher than if us viewers were just looking at the drops on her phone screen over her shoulder. The messages suffocate us — just as they do Violet.
“Drop” reminded me of “The Menu” (2022), a horror-mystery film that also takes place at a restaurant. I really enjoy strong character work, and if these films show anything, it’s that restaurants are the perfect place to reveal personality quirks that build a strong story. Something about the intimacy of a two-person dinner — how they sit at the small table they share, what they order, how they speak to the service people — becomes the perfect foundation on which to build likable, recognizable characters.
Of course, focusing on a first date can be seen as a bit of a cop-out: the communication between characters is extremely low-context, allowing writers to share details about their backstories and personalities more explicitly. But who doesn’t love to watch the early stages of romance unfold?
I found myself extremely invested in the stakes of “Drop,” not just because there were lives on the line, but because I really wanted the date to go well (spoiler: it did not). More than for the sake of safety, I wanted the villain to stop sending Violet the “drops” because they made her into a terrible conversationalist and companion for the night.
Matt (Jeffrey Self), the new waiter tasked with serving Violet and Henry, was an immediate hit, drawing laughs from the audience and imbuing the film with rare lightheartedness upon his first appearance. “Drop”’s balance of dread and humor is one that is hard to strike but great when achieved.
Speaking of humor, one scene left me laughing hard enough that I felt like a distraction to my fellow moviegoers. This scene was undoubtedly not meant to be funny — after finding out who was behind these drops, chaos ensues. More action follows and somehow, we end up with our protagonist hanging out of the window of the restaurant, at least 10 stories up.
This moment, which is meant to be a point of extreme stress, took me out of the narrative completely. I, along with my friend with whom I attended the screening, could not stop laughing at the pure absurdity unfolding before our eyes. The tablecloth Violet holds onto is held up only by one of those pop-up floor outlets, and the CGI used was laughable. The mellow vibes of the rest of the movie were completely lost, and I was left confused at the creative process that led to including this scene. Truly, if this moment wasn’t a part of the movie, I might have taken “Drop” about 10 times more seriously.
At the event, Universal @ Stanford provided every attendee with “Drop”-themed t-shirts. As I and a group of fellow students congregated in the movie theater lobby and (half-jokingly, but also not at all) planned to wear them the next day and match, I was grateful I got to watch “Drop.” Not only for the experience of watching a movie a month early or getting to hang out with my friend, but because it was a truly entertaining watch.
“Drop” is not a cinematic masterpiece by any means, nor would I rate it five stars on Letterboxd, but it was fun. In a world in which prestige TV and film are making a comeback, let’s not forget that sometimes, we don’t have to take ourselves too seriously.
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