The captivating origins of "Drop," the latest spine-chilling thriller from Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, unfold like a plot twist itself. This tale begins three years prior, amidst a serene Italian vacation for its producers. Cameron Fuller and Sam Lerner were savoring a meal in a bustling restaurant when an unexpected eerie twist occurred: Olivia Sui, Lerner's girlfriend, started receiving unsolicited, unsettling "Shrek" memes via AirDrop.
"We spent the entire evening sleuthing, trying to pinpoint the culprit behind these persistent, chilling messages," recounted Fuller, who coproduced the film alongside Michael Bay and his father, Brad Fuller, at the Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday to The Hollywood Reporter. "Our dinner conversation revolved solely around zeroing in on this one mysterious individual. We even tailed someone we were convinced was the sender to the pool, thinking we could isolate their AirDrop and solve the mystery. Yet, it wasn't them. Although we never discovered the perpetrator's identity, a movie was conceived from that haunting experience."
AirDrop, an iPhone feature facilitating the sharing of photos and documents among nearby Apple devices without needing a phone number, became the unsettling backdrop for this real-life dinner drama. "I was sipping on a bottle of wine when it dawned on me, 'This is the stuff movie magic is made of,'" executive producer Lerner reminisced. "The most fortunate twist was having that person AirDrop those memes to us."
Upon returning home, Fuller and Lerner reached out to screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach, with whom Lerner had collaborated on the 2018 horror film "Truth or Dare." Together, they crafted the narrative of a woman's first date being disrupted by a barrage of threatening AirDrops in a crowded restaurant.
Meghann Fahy stars as Violet, on a date with Brandon Sklenar's character, Henry, while her sister watches over her young son at home. The无害的 memes quickly metamorphose into sinister threats, compelling Violet to murder her date or face the dire consequence of her son's demise.
Fahy, previously acclaimed for her roles in "The White Lotus" and "The Perfect Couple," embraced the thriller genre for the first time with this project. She enthused, "I absolutely loved it and would jump at the chance to do more. I gained invaluable insights. Even the simplest scenes, which may seem effortless, are incredibly challenging to perfect. I have a profound new appreciation for the intricacies involved."
Discussing the film's inspirations with director Christopher Landon, Fahy revealed it evoked a "very early 2000s vibe." They drew comparisons to films like "Red Eye," "Speed," and "Panic Room," which unfold in real time within confined spaces, introducing viewers to characters and immersing them in the tense narrative.
"Drop" hits theaters this Friday, promising a heart-pounding cinematic experience inspired by a real-life encounter that defied explanation but sparked creativity.
