Drop: A Familiar Scenario Offers Mixed Results (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Writer/director Christopher Landon has had a rather interesting career in the horror/thriller genres ever since his debut way back in the late '90s. He really started getting noticed after writing the film "Disturbia" and several of the "Paranormal Activity" films before going on to deliver "Happy Death Day" and "Happy Death Day 2U," the films he's arguably most well-known for. It's hard to say that these, or any of his works, have been particularly good films, but at the very least it's shown that there are times that he likes to work with intriguing concepts. This brings us to his latest directorial effort "Drop," a film that tries to take a tension-filled premise and use it to deliver a few thrills over the course of its brief 90-minute runtime. After a long career of somewhat mediocre outings, could this little thriller finally give him an entry that's a critical hit?

As the film opens, we meet Violet Gates (Meghann Fahy), a therapist who is ready to start dating again after being in an abusive relationship with her now-deceased husband. She leaves her son Toby (Jacob Robinson) with her sister Jen (Violett Beane) for the evening, and meets up with her date, photographer Henry Campbell (Brandon Sklenar), at the Palate restaurant. When she arrives, she begins to receive strange "drops" on her phone that become more and more threatening, with the sender eventually revealing that a man is in her house, ready to kill her son if she doesn't follow instructions. With the mysterious perpetrator watching her from every camera and able to see what's on her phone, Violet has no choice but to comply while trying to find a way out of her situation and save her son's life.

"Drop" is another one of those films where the basic premise is that a victim is trapped in a situation that requires them to follow instructions at the risk of harm to themselves or loved ones, with said victim being closely watched and unable to warn police. This is hardly a new idea, as we've seen it before in films like "Nick of Time," "Phone Booth," and others, but it's one that can yield intriguing results if used well, even in a single location, as demonstrated in the latter of the aforementioned examples.

Screenwriters Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach ("Truth or Dare," "Fantasy Island") attempt to take the idea and apply it to a young woman on a date with a man who just happens to be a key government witness that someone wants eliminated. As mentioned, it's not the most original idea, so it's all going to come down to how they use it and how they try to build the tension & suspense that a story like this requires. In that endeavor, they're at least partially successful, giving their story of this young lady forced to jump through hoops some small moments of suspense here and there, but they run into a bit of a problem in that they're set-up leaves them rather limited as to what they can do.

Having the story set almost entirely within a restaurant, and forcing Violet to keep this date going so that she can eventually try to carry out her captor's plan, gives it a fair amount of awkwardness right alongside the attempts at keeping it tense & suspenseful, somewhat lessening the effect it's trying to have. Again, it does have you at least partially curious as to how it will proceed, but overall, the writers have undermined themselves just a little too much with this restrictive scenario. We may have seen single-location films like this work before, but if the ones telling the story aren't quite up to the task of giving it the edge it requires, then you'll simply end up with a product that has mildly-interesting parts, but leaves little impact in the end. "Drop" was a fine effort by all involved, but it really comes down to the execution of the idea, and on that point, it's just not quite successful enough.

Video/Audio:

"Drop" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.39:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality, with the picture remaining perfectly sharp & clear throughout the entire 90-minute duration. Likewise, the 2.0 DVS Dolby Atmos audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Universal has done a marvelous job in both areas for the film's physical debut.

Special Features:

Commentary with Director Christopher Landon

A Recipe for Thrills: Making Drop (7 Minutes): A featurette that goes behind the scenes with the cast & crew.

A Palate for Panic (5 Minutes): A brief look at the creation of the set for the Palate restaurant.

Killer Chemistry (4 Minutes): A featurette that explores the two leads and the relationship between their characters.

Conclusion:

Christopher Landon's "Drop" features a few moments of tension & suspense throughout its somewhat familiar story of a victim forced to carry out instructions, but sadly screenwriters Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach end up undermining themselves with their restrictive scenario, ultimately leading to a film that's mildly-interesting in spots, but leaves little impact in the end thanks to its flawed execution.

Score: 3/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

Follow me on Twitter @BeckFilmCritic.