DROP (2025)

If the movie Drop were a drink, it would be a lite beer. It’s neither complex nor entirely thrilling. In fact, an hour after consuming, you’ll barely feel a thing. Having said that, I love lite beer for all those reasons. It hits the spot when you’re in the mood for something crisp, cool and danger-adjacent. On par with such yesteryear thrillers as Nick of Time (1995), The Juror (1996) or Red Eye (2005), Drop’s a PG-13 whodunnit with its setting confined to a 50 foot radius at an upscale high-rise restaurant. For those who didn’t know (me included) that’s the furthest one can be from a recipient of a cellphone drop message, which makes for an interesting constraint for this single-location film. Although predictable to any and all readers of Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie or any story that relies on red herrings, director Christopher Landon’s – Happy Death Day (2017), Freaky (2020) – clever implementation of modern technology to tell the tale of a nightmarish first date is impressive. Meghann Fahy – The White Lotus (2022) and Brandon Sklenar – It Ends With Us (2024) – manage to ignite and maintain a spark throughout the turmoil and plot holes. It’s nothing intoxicating, but good if all you want is a manageable weeknight buzz.

WATCH OR NOT: WATCH