A First Date Nightmare: A movie review of ‘Drop’

A First Date Nightmare: A movie review of ‘Drop’

(Movie Review)

By: Alexis Rosa

‘Drop’ brought something new and fresh to the thriller genre by adding a modern twist

which is something everyone can appreciate. The trailer for this movie really caught my eye

and it didn’t disappoint to some degree. This was an enjoyable time at the movies but

lacked in certain areas. It started off strong, stayed strong, then in the ending everything

just falls flat and is rushed. I feel like thriller movies can lack a good solid ending so it’s

disappointing to admit this movie falls in that category. I don’t want to say this was a

complete failure, there were some positives, and it is worth your time if you are just looking

for something to turn your mind off too. But this is not a masterpiece, and I can see how

people could not be satisfied after watching. I will be diving deeper into the things that

work and didn’t work.

‘Drop’ was released on April 11 by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse

Production.

The summary for ‘Drop’ on IMDB is “A widowed mother’s first date in years

takes a terrifying turn when she’s bombarded with anonymous threating messages on her

phone during their upscale dinner, leaving her questioning if her charming date is behind

the harassment”. I would say a first date going wrong like this has been done before on the big screen but adding the modern twist of a person harassing someone on their phone added a fresh twist. The concept was strong and original, and like I always say in a world full of remakes and sequels I’ll always give props to movies like this even if it wasn’t strong.

The movie’s runtime is an hour and thirty-five minutes. For once I have to admit I didn’t like

how this was a short movie. This movie needed more depth and length for sure. There were a lot of unsaid things and things could have been further explained. I would have sat there for another thirty at least for a better ending and more plot. This movie is described as a thriller, mystery, drama, and a whodunit, anyone who loves these kinds of movies will get what they need from it. It has a ‘PG-13’ rating, they were smart for this rating to get a wider audience but if they did an ‘R’ rating I think it would have had the depth I was looking for. It could have had more gore, more cursing, just a more mature feel. I am not someone who is like “Yeah! More blood!” or “Yeah! More murder” so this is really saying something.It was directed by Christopher Landon. He has written, produced, and directed a lot of

horror/thriller movies including the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise. His experience shone in this movie for sure. It was written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, both of whom haven’t worked on many things which could be where the lack of ending came from. It was produced by Michael Bay who is well known in the movie industry. Meghann Fahy stars as Violet the widowed mom, Brandon Skelenar as Henry who is Violet’s date, Violett Beane as Jenn who is Violet’s sister, Jacob Robinson as Toby who is Violet’s son, and Reed Diamond as Richard. Meghann and Brandon There were small names and big names involved in this

movie.

‘Drop’ hasn’t been nominated or won any awards yet since it was just released this month. There is still time to see if it will be nominated for any future awards. I could see Meghann Fahy being nominated and winning awards for her performance in this movie since it was

something critics and everyday movie goers praised the most about this movie. She would

deserve it since her acting was something this movie did do right. She really shone in this role.

What this movie did right the acting, the outcome, and the hidden message. Everyone’s acting all around was impressive and helped make this movie shine. Meghann Fahly and Brandon Sklenar had great chemistry and made the characters come alive. The whodunnit story line keeps you guessing and is so well crafted. I didn’t expect who was behind it at all which worked in this movie favor since I was disappointed, but I was entertained. Violet, the main character, has had a dark pass; she escaped an abusive relationship. She is going on a date for the first time since recovering and this is the outcome of it. She is stronger and smarter this time around when she finds herself in a bad spot which makes this feel like a movie of healing which is a hidden message in this movie. It made the movie feel wholesome and relatable. There is one more thing I want to mention that this movie did right – the movie was shot 95% in a restaurant and it was still entertaining. They did some really cool shots and camera techiniques throughout to make you on edge. What this movie did wrong the ending, the cliches, and too fast paced. The ending really killed this movie. It was fast, abrupt, and way too perfect. There needed to be more grit, more dramatic, and things needed to be wrapped up better. They really took an easy way out with the ending by having a typical happy ending. The movie just crumbled for me after finishing it. This movie did have fresh ideas and thoughts for cinema but did have the typical thriller cliches which made it fall flat. I wanted something a little more different and

out there. The movie was also too fast paced for me, I appreciate a short movie that gets to

a point, but this movie needed another thirty minutes for sure. To wrap up loose ends, to

dive deeper into the plot and characters.My boyfriend, 27, said “I’m giving this a low rating automatically for the ending. The ending

was lacking in so many departments, not sure if I would revisit this one but I did appreciate

the fresh idea brough to screen”. My mom, 48, said “it was just alright, nothing show

stopping but the acting was fabulous from everyone, and the ending was way too perfect”.

As you can see again the ending just didn’t work for the three of us. It seemed like they

didn’t know what direction to end it in, so they decided to go with the typical happy ending.

Two different ages saying similar things, you do what you want with that information and if

you would enjoy the movie or not. All three of this most likely will not be rewatching this

one.

The world gross for this movie so far is $13,940,672 with a Meta score of 65 from critics. It

has already made its money back and has been doing really well with critics. Seeing this

really shocked me since I felt disappointed but no matter what seeing a low budget not

highly advertised movie doing well will just always make me feel good. I have mixed

feelings, I’d tell someone to go see this movie, but I also wouldn’t at the same time. Since

we live in the era of streaming, I would say to wait to stream this one instead of going to see

it at the theaters. ‘Drop’ is playing in theaters now.