Three beeps. “Let’s_Play would like to share a photo.” The photo? A cartoonishly evil Elmo in front of a fire with a threatening message in meme text. This is the premise of the film “Drop,” directed by Christopher Landon. 

Under the towering structure of the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, a large red backdrop with the word DROP in bold white text stood before a black carpet. Cameras flashed as social media influencers flooded past. Following the influencers, the more high-profile celebrities graced the carpet. Individuals like director Christopher Landon, producers Brad and Cameron Fuller and executive producer Sam Lerner stopped and talked to the press. Producer Michael Bay made his appearance, but he did not partake in the interviews.

“Drop” is a mystery horror film about receiving threatening AirDrops, or DigiDrops, from a stranger. The film follows a widowed mother named Violet (Meghann Fahy) as she goes on a first date with Henry (Brandon Sklenar) after three months of talking on a dating app. It is her first time being apart from her son, Toby (Jacob Robinson), after the passing of her husband, and she is fearful; however, she trusts that her younger sister Jen (Violett Beane) will take good care of him. Once she arrives at the restaurant, she begins to receive ominous and threatening “drops” from a mysterious account named “Let’s_Play.” As her date progresses, the drops get more and more sinister, until she discovers that the lives of Toby and Jen are in danger. 

The film is a classic whodunnit placed in the age of technology. The restaurant features a whole cast of characters — any one of which could be the mysterious dropper. Be it the sassy incompetent waiter, the creepy man sitting by himself, the old man on a blind date or the flirtatious piano player. Making the excuse of checking in on her son, Violet is on her phone for the entire date, watching out for messages from whoever is threatening her. This is not a complete lie, considering her fierce protectiveness of him. 

The premise of “Drop” lends an easy hand to comedy; however, the film takes a more dramatic approach to it. With the inclusion of themes of domestic abuse and political scandal, the tone gets heavy at times. It also invites the audience to consider modern society’s over-reliance on technology and its potential dangers.

“This is based on the true story that happened to me and my girlfriend, and Cameron [Fuller], who’s the other producer. We’re best friends … We were in Italy on vacation together, and we’re sitting in a restaurant, and my girlfriend, Olivia [Sui], starts receiving AirDrops from someone in the restaurant, and they were all photos of Shrek,” Lerner said. “It started out kind of funny. And then it got kind of creepy — like one of them said ‘It’s all ogre now.’ That was the one that planted this idea in our heads.”

After that experience, Lerner and Fuller decided to take the idea to screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, who decided to set the movie in a high-rise restaurant in Chicago. The movie was shot in Ireland, and according to Lerner, the production team built the set from the ground up. The lighting of the shots came directly from the lights that they placed in the restaurant.

Since they sent the script in its first draft to the director Christopher Landon, he was able to have some influence on the writing process. Having studied screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University, Landon writes a large portion of the films he directs. 

“I put on my writer hat. We all got together and continued to push the script forward together collectively,” Landon said.

Landon went on to discuss how writing films influences his directing style, stating that being a writer/director lets one develop a certain kind of intimacy with the material. Being strongly dedicated to “Drop,” Landon memorized every shot of the movie by the time they started shooting.

The set of “Drop” seemed to be fun-filled and well-produced. According to Gabrielle Ryan, who played the bartender in the film, on Christopher Landon’s birthday, the entire crew held a flash mob. Landon brought more laughter to the set when he dressed in Meghann Fahy’s wardrobe on the final day of shooting.

A couple of USC alums had major roles in the creation of “Drop.” Producer Cameron Fuller graduated from the University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting.

“A lot of people in [the film] industry went [to USC], so I have friends who I went to school with that I’m now working with. So, I think, stay close to people that you love,” Cameron said. 

Another USC alum is Bear McCreary, the composer of all the music in the film. McCreary graduated from the Thornton School of Music in 2002.

After all of the excitement and photos on the carpet, the crowd was ushered into the IMAX theatre, where free popcorn and drinks were placed on the tables outside.

Following the premiere, an after party was held at Bar Lis, where crew members and celebrities alike chatted together and enjoyed the crab cake sliders and an open bar.

“Drop” strikes fear of strangers and the advancement of technology into the hearts of audiences, so be sure to set your AirDrop to “contacts only” when you go out into public spaces!