DROP is the best time at the worst date ever. Violet (Meghann Fahy) is a psychotherapist who specializes in helping victims of abuse. She is also a single mom and a widow that is facing the terrifying challenge of entering the dating scene again. Little does she know that her decision to explore romance will soon lead to being in the crosshairs of an unseen villain in the middle of a crowded restaurant. The clever script from Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach follows Violet as she endures a battle of wits while maintaining decorum in a high rise restaurant. This single-location thriller, directed with the expected wit by Christopher Landon is such a nasty bit of fun that you can’t help but have a good time.

After leaving her cherubic son Toby (Jacob Robinson) with her sister Jen (Violett Beane) at home in the Chicago suburbs, Violet heads downtown for a first date with hunky photograper, Henry (Brandon Sklenar.) Shy Violet arrives at the restaurant ahead of her tardy date and orders some wine at the bar and makes friends with bartender Cara (Gabrielle Ryan). Landon’s direction here offers every visual cue that Violet is walking into an ominous trap and we are almost made to feel responsible for not letting her know she is in danger. Jagged escalators frame the lobby like a trap out of SAW, the sleek entry to the restaurant feels like a creepy portal into the unknown.

Henry arrives and, as the two sit down for a romantic meal, Violet begins to receive cryptic drop files or messages on her phone. At first the messages are playfully obtuse. Then the mysterious messages become more direct, more threatening. What’s worse, thugs have  broken into her home to hold her sister and son hostage to make sure that Violet does as she is told. Fahy carries the film in her role as the timid beauty who must navigate a cat and mouse game with an invisible foe while pretending that the only thing on her mind is acting normal. What does this evil file sender want from Violet? Furthermore, who are they? In a crowded restaurant filled with strangers, nearly anyone is a suspect.

I have to hand it to writers Jacobs and Roach for their full embrace of technology as a tool for story and suspense. In most of these films, there is the usual dismissal of smartphones with a character throwing a line away to the effect of, “Oh the signal is terrible here. I can’t get through.” Here the story leans into the invasive nature of modern devices, turning it into a weapon as frightening as a butcher knife in the hands of a slasher.

Will Violet escape the restaurant with her life? Will her family survive? Who is the dastardly diner after her? In conventional popcorn-flick fashion, we get a twisted suspense thriller that ultimately comes through to a satisfying finish. Drop is the type of suspense thriller that wants to keep the audience guessing, while working hard not to lose them. By the time the expected reveal happens, we have figured things out, but who cares. We had fun. Really, that’s all that you can ask for on a first date. Right?