Brilliant setup ; fantastic payoff.

It’s been some time since Violet (Meghann Fahy) felt the courage to dip a toe back into a romantic entanglement, at long last taking a chance to befriend Henry (Brandon Sklenar) on a dating app. Entrusting her sister Jen (Violett Beane) to babysit her son Toby (Jacob Robinson), Violet arrives at a pricey after-hours penthouse restaurant in Chicago ahead of her date, watching a few eyerolling patrons at the bar to pass the time. Soon after Henry arrives to be seated with her, someone messages Violet via a short-range phone app invitation, drawing her attention before demanding her obedience. Threatening her family at home if she exits the restaurant or alerts anyone to her situation, someone’s life is about to end… whether she likes it or not.

Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon (that’s a good thing) and Fantasy Island scribes Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach (not such a good thing) unleash a Hitchcockian countdown thriller swapping “The Bomb Under the Table” trope for a smart phone on top of it. The trailer looks over-the-top ridiculous because nothing it shows is in the order it actually happens. Put another way, since the bad guys want to avoid alerting the authorities and ruin their diabolical plan, it’s in their best interest not to draw unwanted attention until it’s far too late. Trapped in a dire situation and able to rely only upon herself, it’s a nightmare scenario when any decision could end the life of an innocent. What is it they want… and what will she choose to do?

The setup seems simple until the complications set in, stacking the deck against our protagonist to make the audience feel helpless right alongside her. Yet at every turn, she does whatever she can, whether taking an extra moment, quickly assessing a clue, or using clever misdirection… anything to gain an edge when everything seems hopeless. Violet’s refusal to give up against all odds speaks volumes for her character, and when her antagonists finally realize how they’ve underestimated her, it is indeed glorious but still not the end. More of a who’s-doing-it than a whodunit in a room full of suspects, the story steadily builds momentum until it stomps on the gas, and all you can do by then is hold on.

It’s a little difficult to accept the make-the-plot-work technology plus other assumptions needed to have set this scenario up; it’s too much for a woefully few individuals to pull so many strings needing constant attention and adjustment. Fortunately, what works is the decidedly simple solutions with limited resources and opportunity to temporarily foil these over-the-top techniques, which is its own kind of entertainment. While a tech-savvy crowd might be more accepting of the set-up, why it’s all happening specifically to these people isn’t as interesting as watching characters react to each reveal. Similar to Happy Death Day and its sequel, there’s just enough whimsy mixed in with all the seriousness, an in-story acknowledgement of how bonkers the idea is while still allowing for necessary gravitas.

Our main character can’t escape a couple of stereotypes — think Scream’s Sidney Prescott advocating for abused women over a helpline with a dash of ye olde mentally challenged offspring — but subverting these expectations is more innovative than some Shyamalan twist. Pointing out peak performances would spoil the surprises, but suffice to say there are standouts. Please consider supporting this non-sequel thriller in a theater near you, because a successful showing will go a long way toward greenlighting a third Happy Death Day film.

Drop is rated PG-13 for strong violent content, suicide, some strong language, sexual references, and underestimating your target for the same reason you chose them.

Four skull recommendation out of four