CINEMA NEWS – If he hadn’t been forced to leave Scream 7, maybe Date Alive would still be just a dream for Christopher Landon. It would have been a shame if production had been delayed, because his new film already boasts a serious fan base before its official premiere.

The history of Drop could be a good starting point for a thriller in itself. Landon came to direct Scream 7 after gaining a serious reputation in the thriller/horror genre (Happy Death Day! 1-2, Freaky). Therefore, the producers thought that if anyone should be given the seventh installment of the franchise, it should be him, because he knows how to turn the usual templates on their heads. Landon was up for the job, but trouble came quickly. The production fired Melissa Barrera, the main character of the previous two Screams, from the seventh installment because she posted ambiguous comments about the conflict in the Middle East. Then the other big star, Jenna Ortega, left for other reasons, so the film was left without the two big names, even though the script was written for them. But that was the least of the problems. Landon began receiving anonymous messages threatening his two young sons, because the senders of the messages assumed that the two actresses left because of him, so he could be blamed if the franchise went bankrupt. As Landon told Vanity Fair, the threats had to be taken seriously, so the studio’s security agency and the FBI were involved. The director didn’t wait for results to come, and instead stepped down due to the harassed situation, despite being reprimanded. “The producers kept telling me that I could definitely start again, but there were so many complications with this film that I didn’t want to continue,” the director told the newspaper.

So he had plenty of time to realize his long-cherished love project, Drop. The heroine of the story is a grieving mother raising her child alone (Meghann Fahy), who goes on a date with an attractive man (Brandon Sklenar) for the first time in a long time. However, during the elegant dinner, she receives threatening messages on her cell phone, which reveal that her little son, who stayed home, her sister who was looking after him, and her own life are in danger. According to the unknown perpetrator, escape is only possible if our heroine kills her dinner partner.

Drop at first glance is a masterfully executed thriller based on classic Hitchcockian principles, but it also carries a modern message: it highlights the dangers of modern technology, which, among other things, allows someone to anonymously drive others crazy.

Drop has also a 90 percent rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review portal.