DROP

For anyone worried that this film might be too tense for them to enjoy I can reassure them that they'll be fine.

Admittedly the setup does sound promising.  Violet is on a first date in a swanky restaurant when she starts getting orders on her phone from someone who is threatening to kill her child (and baby-sitter sister) if she doesn't follow those orders to the letter.

It's done stylishly to begin with and I was certainly intrigued as to where it was heading, and how Violet would manage to follow some of the more demanding orders.  And of course I was wondering whether her date Henry was in fact not all he seemed.

Eventually we learn who is behind it all, and where Henry fits in.  As often happens with an outlandish premise the resolution can be either anti-climactic or not very plausible or (as here) both.

And then suddenly we are thrown into a ridiculous set of action sequences which aren't done very well, and are very much at odds with what has gone before.

Ultimately this film is more style than substance but until it goes off the rails at the end it's entertaining enough I guess.  But I do wish films like this weren't described as Hitchcockian when they fall so far short of the Master of Suspense's best work.

The best reason to watch it is probably Meghann Fahy as Violet, who I would happily watch in something else.

RATING: x Curb Your Enthusiasm