Despite leaving a bitter taste in my cinematic palette with Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, my first encounter with Christopher Landon’s directing, it was clear that Landon showed promise and ultimately became a voice in horror that can be trusted. After the success of the Happy Death Day films, Landon continued to elevate the horror comedy sub-genre in 2020’s Freaky. A film that turns the Freaky Friday premise on its hard and is injected with horrific charm and laughs.

With Landon’s writing already on display in 2025’s Heart Eyes, his follow-up directorial effort, Drop was one of my most anticipated horror films of 2025 after its initial presentation at last years New York Comic Con. A first date gone horrifically wrong when you’re asked to murder that individual? Consider me sold.

Christopher Landon’s Drop subverts predictable expectations, delivering a suspenseful and ambitious homage to the Hitchcockian whodunit. Striking an ideal balance between tension and delicious comedy, the film results into a wildley entertaining crowd pleaser. The true irony of Drop is in its ability to turn a first date gone wrong into the perfect date movie.

Co-written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, Drop features a screenplay that blends the single-location suspense of Wes Craven’s Red Eye with the ever-shifting array of suspects of a Hitchcock thriller. The clever subversion of the usual suspects aid in the scripts effectiveness, resulting in a tension-filled rollercoaster ride. Where the screenplay stumbles is in its third act. With horror often requires a suspension of disbelief, however, Drop asks its audience take a leap of faith in its final moments that some may not fully land with all cinephiles.

Christopher Landon’s playful directorial style shines throughout, and it’s elevated by the magnetic duo of Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar. Their chemistry and charm explode off the screen as Sklenar’s calm and understanding demeanor complements Fahy’s complexity as she weaves through saving her family and salvaging whats remaining of her date.

While mostly a two hander, the supporting cast including Jacob Robinson, Violett Beane, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan and Jeffery Self all add their own unique flavor and complement the narrative of the film. However, there’s no denying this is the Fahy and Skelnar show.

While mostly enjoying all of Christopher Landon’s work since Happy Death Day, Drop may stand as my favorite directorial effort of his so far. Knowing what could have been with his Scream 7, Drop deepens my excitement for  whats to come for one of the most entertaining filmmakers within the genre.