I Just Watched Drop and It’s a Total Ripoff of This 2000s Thriller

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CAUTION: The following content reveals significant plot points from the 2025 film “Drop”. If you haven’t watched it yet, I’m not urging you to abandon your current tasks and rush to see it immediately, but I do advise you to exercise caution if you choose to continue reading further.

Over the past few years, the horror genre has truly shined, and 2025 is no different, boasting films like “Drop“. I managed to catch this chilling movie when it arrived on Peacock streaming service, and I must say, I have mostly positive comments about it… despite a sense of familiarity.

Actually, the recent Blumhouse film by director Christopher Landon seems strikingly similar to a thriller from the early 2000s I recently rewatched. Can you guess which movie I’m referring to and how closely it resembles “Drop”? Take a look…

Drop Is Basically Red Eye For The 2020s

As a movie enthusiast, I recently revisited Wes Craven’s suspenseful thriller, “Red Eye,” now streaming on Netflix. In this chilling tale, Rachel McAdams portrays a woman grappling with past trauma, who finds herself in a precarious situation aboard an airplane. Here, she crosses paths with a man (Cillian Murphy, seemingly less than enthused about the film) who forces her into an uneasy alliance to carry out a politically charged assassination, all while threatening to set off a remote killer on her unsuspecting father (Brian Cox). Throughout the harrowing journey, McAdams skillfully employs every ounce of wit and resourcefulness at her disposal, either outsmarting the ruthless antagonist or subtly enlisting the help of fellow passengers without arousing his suspicions.

In my perspective, if I were to slightly modify certain aspects from the 2005 movie, what we’d essentially get is the plot of “Drop“. Instead of an airplane, Meghann Fahy’s character, Violet, finds herself pinned down in a rooftop restaurant. She receives threatening messages on her phone, warning her to kill her date, Henry (Brandon Sklenar), or else her sister, Jen (Violet Beane), and young son, Toby (Jacob Robinson), will meet an untimely end. The antagonist torments Violet via chilling memes, and the movie’s subtly queer-themed elements give it a modern twist. In essence, this can be seen as a contemporary reimagining of “Red Eye“, and the similarities run even deeper.

Even Drop’s Final Act Is Strikingly Similar To Red Eye

The plot of “Drop” doesn’t merely connect with “Red Eye” just through their initial scenarios. While they do share some similarities, particularly in their conclusions where the main character outsmarts her antagonist before rushing to save her family members from a hired gunman, leading to a high-stakes game of cat and mouse that culminates with the family member providing a powerful assist using a firearm.

In the concluding part of each movie, it suggests that our heroine has fortunately healed from her past harrowing event, having successfully navigated this perilous situation. What’s missing in the film Drop, however, is a character or two who serve as formidable adversaries to our protagonist, much like the Taylors did in Red Eye.

So, Which Do I Like More: Red Eye Or Drop?

In my opinion, the movie “Red Eye” remains an exceptional thriller even after twenty years, and is one of Wes Craven’s lesser-known masterpieces. Nevertheless, I have to say that overall, the film “Drop” outshines it significantly in my personal rankings.

Initially, I appreciate how this movie maintains an enigma about its villain for a significant part of it, unlike how the film “Red Eye” discloses Murphy’s character Jackson Rippner’s true motives early on. Furthermore, I feel that the protagonist in this movie faces more harrowing challenges compared to Lisa from “Red Eye,” as Lisa merely facilitates an assassination, whereas Violet is compelled to kill Henry herself. Lastly, portraying all events that occur within the restaurant in real-time (a rarely used storytelling technique, in my opinion) kept me on edge throughout.

Usually, I might feel let down to discover I’ve watched two very similar films so closely, but if they were shown together in a double feature, I’d say time would have been well invested. In simpler terms, I highly suggest you check out Drop on Peacock, and afterwards, don’t hesitate to stream Red Eye on Netflix as well.

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2025-07-17 21:08