- Director: Christopher Landon
- Screenplay: Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach
- Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar
- Cinematography: Marc Spicer
- Editing: Ben Baudhuin
- Score: Bear McCreary
- Genre: Thriller
- Runtime: 95 minutes
What’s the worst first date you’ve been on? Take that, and multiply it by a million. Then it’s on the same level as Violet (Meghann Fahy) and Henry (Brandon Sklenar)’s first in-person meeting after three months of texting back and forth.
Violet entrusts her sister to babysit her son while she’s out. As soon as she enters the swanky restaurant, she’s bombarded with AirDrops – that’s when someone can digitally share pictures with any Apple device within a certain proximity. Initially, she thinks it’s a stupid prank and brushes it off. The messages, however, get progressively antagonistic, the anonymous sender revealing they know Violet’s name, the location of her house and promises they will kill her son unless she does their bidding. She’s tasked with killing Henry. Drop-dead? Well, he is, admittedly.
With eyes watching her every move, Violet frantically tries to work out the identity of the mystery ‘dropper’ – it could be anyone in a 50 foot radius. Any of the patrons? The serving staff? The sleazy piano player? We have a technological whodunnit on our hands – which is impossible to solve since everyone’s glued to their iPhones.
Stylishly shot by horror hotshot Christopher Landon (‘Happy Death Day‘, ‘Freaky‘, ‘We Have a Ghost‘), this isn’t his usual blend of comedy and scares. It’s played straight, with Violet being a survivor of domestic abuse – including such a sensitive subject matter adds weight to the proceedings.
A white-knuckle ride from start to finish; veering into implausibility at times but totally gripping. Drop what you’re doing and go see this immediately. It might be the perfect date movie.
My rating: 7 / 10
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