Drop – REVIEW & COCKTAIL – The Martini Shot

That’s right, we’re talking about Blumhouse again. I haven’t been shy about my feelings on Blumhouse and their presence in the horror movie realm. And if you’re new to this channel, here’s a quick summation: me no likey.

But today we don’t have a horror film on our hands, but a psychological thriller, which some would say is horror’s PG-13 cousin. Our setting? A high rise restaurant overlooking beautiful Downtown City, USA. Our heroine? A mom looking to get back into the dating world after overcoming her past trauma. Our mystery? Somebody is airdropping her passive aggressive memes threatening to kill her son if she doesn’t follow their every command. Our verdict? Well, I’m about to say something I don’t say about Blumhouse often, and no, it’s not “it’s good”, but “it’s fine”. Hey, sometimes you gotta celebrate the little victories.

Drop offers up classic thriller setups with a bit of a modern twist, creating a mostly enjoyable whodunnit that can leave you guessing and doubting yourself at every turn. Our lead and supporting cast are a bit on the underdeveloped side, but their likability shines through whatever narrative hindrances potentially hold them back. But unfortunately, the film’s mystery, while intriguing on the surface, never really has that moment of unnerving genius to it, maybe because of its derivative nature or its unwillingness to go full blown nutty with it. It’s nothing amazing by any means, but in the realm of Blumhouse…shoot, it’s like finding a diamond after wading through a pile of shit, though I’m not super sure why I was digging through shit to begin with.

The film is directed by Christopher Landon, who, if you’ve been keeping up with modern horror, you may have seen a thing or two of his. He’s the director behind the Happy Death Day films and Freaky, and the writer behind a good chunk of the Paranormal Activity movies and even this year’s Heart Eyes. I wouldn’t exactly call him a modern horror visionary, but the guy has more often than not delivered on what I would call pretty decent pop horror. I think his biggest achievement in this film is his work with the actors, especially with our leads Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar. Sure, a lot of the cutesy, cringey first date dialogue they’re given isn’t exactly stellar, but the two do feel genuine and, dare I say, have a bit of actual chemistry. Even some of the side characters are goofily good in their own way, like their overbearing waiter Matt. 

When it comes to capturing the shot though, I found this to be a pretty standard affair. There are definitely moments of creativity, like with the anonymous texts appearing on screen, the spotlight focusing on certain characters, or a moment where a bathroom stall’s walls turn into several security cameras. Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between, while everything else varies from bland to aggravating. I don’t know what it is with a lot of Blumhouse’s films, but they all seem to be shot in a very similar manner. There’s no real creative intention behind scene blocking or camera movements; it’s all just coverage without a thought about how the camera or the blocking could be used to elevate the scene. This film is a lot of talking, which means you are spending a lot of time in the same spot with the same two characters. But so many of these scenes are just shot with a basic shot/reverse shot method, which means you are seeing the same camera angle over and over again. This becomes excruciatingly apparent in the film’s editing, which often rapidly cuts back and forth between our two characters talking, almost fearing to hang on a shot for more than a second. There’s supposed to be a lot of tension and anxiety here, and something as simply refusing to cut away from an awkward conversation does wonders for instilling that feeling with the audience in a subtle way. But it almost feels like the shoot was one big mess and it had to be salvaged in the edit.

As for the mystery, it’s essentially in the same vein as Red Eye or Phone Booth. Our protagonist is stuck in one location and must solve a mystery if they want to leave alive. While I wouldn’t say this film has the claustrophobia of those two films, it still manages to generate some tension thanks to a large pool of people to be suspicious of and several red herrings to throw you off, some more obvious than others. The idea of having commands airdropped to you kind of feels gimmicky, but I think there’s some fun to be had there. As out of touch as some of these murderous memes feel, it does give the plot a bit of its own identity, and it’s a shame the film ditches them for just plain old texts early on. The concept doesn’t always feel like it has much to offer, but the filmmakers do a halfway decent job at tying the concept into the story in a way that makes you believe it couldn’t be told through any means other than this. But man, those downtimes between the deadly demands leaves us at the mercy of the script, which is not the strongest. Like I said, a lot of this film is talking between our two main characters, and none of it is exactly worthwhile or imperative to understanding the characters. And lastly, the mystery isn’t one of those that really feels rewarding to get to, mostly because it’s less concerned with figuring out who’s the culprit and more with if our main character will kill her date to save her son. An intriguing moral dilemma, just not one that ever really feels inevitable.   

It may straddle the line of reason at times, but Drop isn’t the worst thing you could be seeing at the movies. The plot at least has a tinge of originality to it thanks to its integration of a modern day feature, and the cast does a decent enough job with what they’re given. It’s bound to not really shock you or give you a new view on the mystery thriller genre, but for what it’s worth, there’s still some decently silly fun to be had with this. The last thing I want is to sit through 90 minutes of Hitchcock and ball torture, so good job Blumhouse for not making me call you the bane of Hollywood this time around. With this, you’re less Bane and more…I dunno, the Ventriloquist. 

RATING

SNAREDROP

Bomb cocktails are perfect for those looking to add a couple extra, messy steps to their drinking experience. You may be familiar with some bomb cocktails such as the Boilermaker or the Snake Bite, but the Snaredrop plays things a little differently. This is a soda-based cocktail that will have a shot mixed with tequila, aperol and raspberry liqueur dropped into it. The final product is a bubbly, slightly sweet cocktail that feels like a cross between a ranch water and a fruity lemonade. And of course, if you don’t want all the theatrics that come with the drink, you can still make this by pouring everything into a tall glass and stirring with ice.

INGREDIENTS

• 6oz lemon lime soda
• 1/2oz lime juice
• 1oz tequila
• 1/2oz aperol
• 1/2oz raspberry liqueur

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a tall glass, add the soda and the lime juice. Amount of soda may vary depending on glass, but you want to fill it up enough so that the shot glass will be completely submerged.
2. Add remaining ingredients to a shot glass.
3. Drop the shot glass into the tall glass.
4. Add ice and enjoy.