Interviews
Christopher Landon’s ‘Drop’ Built Fully Functioning Restaurant for Immersive Thriller [Interview]
Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”) and Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us) star as a budding couple embarking on a first date that goes terribly awry thanks to a twisty murder plot in Happy Death Day and Freaky director Christopher Landon’s thriller Drop.
The suspenseful thriller sets its whodunnit in motion when widowed mother Violet begins receiving mysterious airdrops on her phone, lighthearted memes at first that quickly snowball into sinister threats, prompting Violet to commit murder before her loved ones suffer the price.
Landon, speaking with Bloody Disgusting at SXSW for the film’s premiere, shared the true origins that inspired Drop. He explains, “Our producers were on vacation; they’re in a restaurant, and they started getting all of these mysterious airdrops from somebody in the restaurant. They could not figure it out. They never figured it out. They never solved it, but that’s when they were like, ‘This is like a great premise for a movie.’ They approached Chris [Roach] and Jill [Jacobs], our writers, and said, ‘Here’s the threadbare idea. Go.’
“They went off and came up with this very classic thriller concept. Then they wrote a first draft, and then the producers brought that draft to me and said, ‘We think that there’s a movie in here somewhere.’ I read it really fast because I thought it was a really fun script, but it was great because there was still a lot of work to do. A lot of things to solve, which is my favorite thing to do: roll up my sleeves as a writer and put that hat on. The three of us got together and worked really closely on the script. It was such a joy to work with them.”
(from left) Violet (Meghann Fahy) and Henry (Brandon Sklenar) in Drop, directed by Christopher Landon.
One huge piece of the puzzle to solve was maintaining momentum in the pressure cooker scenario. Landon tells BD, “That was one of the big challenges of the movie, how do we continue to cast suspicion on a lot of different people and make them feel like credible suspects? How do you keep subverting expectations? I think also one of the challenges here, and it was something that I was really deeply involved in, was in the original script, there were a lot of different motivations and a lot of different things happening that for me didn’t land quite right. It was just about making sure that motivations were clean, that they made sense, that they tracked so that if you do go back and watch the movie a second time, you’re going to see like, oh, okay, now this all makes sense. There are a lot of hidden things in the movie that people will miss. If they go back and watch it, they’ll see a lot more.”
Drop also marks a departure from Landon’s recent genre-mashup output, in what his husband lovingly and humorously refers to as his “grown-up” movie. The more sophisticated and simple concept was a huge part of the appeal for the filmmaker. He explains, “I think what I was more conscious of was wanting to make something that I think was less of a mash-up and more straightforward. I think for a lot of filmmakers, every project that we tackle is a reaction to the thing we did before. I was reacting to a movie that I didn’t even make but was supposed to. It was the best version of kismet where I had this project. It really was a great sandbox for me to work out a lot because I’m always kind of wrestling and dealing with my stuff. I’m sorry I drag millions of people along with me into my therapy sessions. But that’s what it was for me. I was really excited to make something that was darker and heavier, and a little more emotional, but still manages to find the light. I always like to have humor in everything I do, so I still found that here. It’s just not as broad as those other movies.”
Landon continues, “We live in an age where we’re dealing with a lot of movies that have these enormous production budgets and so many visual effects, and all this stuff that’s getting thrown at the audience. For me, sometimes there’s just something impossibly magical and enthralling about two people just at a table. The stakes can still be so high, even though your environment and the amount of characters you’re interacting with is so minimal. I saw Red Eye multiple times in the theater. Again, sort of going full circle kismet, I did not get to make the Wes Craven movie that I thought I was going to make.“
The pared-back thriller pays homage to the suspense greats, from Alfred Hitchcock to Brian De Palma to Wes Craven, and sets up a tension-fueled whodunnit that takes place almost exclusively within an upscale restaurant on the 38th floor of a Chicago high-rise. Palate, the film’s fictional restaurant, becomes a character in itself because so much of the film is set there. While it’s not surprising that production built the setting from scratch, what is surprising is that it was fully functional. As in, Palate even served tasty food that not even the actors could resist, and it required careful planning for the sake of continuity.
“We built a 12,000-square-foot restaurant,“ Landon reveals. “We had 100 extras. We had to train an entire staff. We had actual food. We had a chef who made food. We created a full menu of very specific dishes, and then they had to go and create. I don’t even know what they were made of, but they were fake versions of our dishes that look photoreal. We vacillated between those because you don’t want a set that stinks of food all day and is gross. We also needed some people to be eating. It was such a crazy, elaborate operation. Hats off to our AD department because they had so much work to do in terms of tracking. Also, we had to manage continuity. Who’s getting up? Who’s getting what? What table’s being seated? What table’s done? What course are they on? Every single table had to be mapped out. It was mind-blowing. There were giant graphs and charts and all kinds of crazy shit that was done.
“When you watch the movie, it is seamless. The food was good. I had to stop Brandon from eating at a certain point because he would just keep going between takes. He would be like, ‘This is delicious.‘ He kept tucking into it. I was like, ‘Slow down. You’ve had five steaks.’
The restaurant set piece wasn’t just functional to create an immersive restaurant experience. Landon details, “It was 16 feet off the ground. We had to build an elevated set for a couple of reasons. One, because there’s a sequence later in the movie that requires the height. It was also like a big technical feat because they built this massive tunnel through the middle of the set so that we could move cranes and other gear from one side of the restaurant to the other side of the restaurant. It was a marvel. I was blown away by this thing. It was really cool. We had to get a certain amount of clearance so that we could do certain things with the actors after.”
“Then,“ Landon teases of a stunt-heavy third act, “we had to build an alternate facade of the building so that we could hang actors on wires even higher than that. Meghann was way up there. She was so brave because I was scared looking at it.”
Drop releases in theaters on April 11, 2025.
Interviews
The Work ‘Grind’ Is Hell, So Brea Grant & Ed Dougherty Made a Horror Anthology About It [CFF 2026 Interview]
Genre fans rejoice! Chattanooga Film Festival is back for its 13th year in 2026 with a killer lineup and once again offering audiences both in-person and virtual options. After having its World Premiere at SXSW this spring, the horror comedy anthology Grind is playing CFF 2026 opening weekend.
From a screenplay by Brea Grant (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift) and Ed Dougherty (MLM) and segments directed by Grant, Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Grind features four interwoven stories that parody the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.
The anthology follows weary everyday people juggling side hustles just to survive, while going up against greedy oligarchs, and cleverly uses dark humor and bloody practical effects to portray a world much like our current economic nightmare.
Bloody Disgusting had the pleasure of chatting with Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty about the socioeconomic commentary in Grind, casting Barbara Crampton as a villain, and DIY filmmaking.
Bloody Disgusting: Every segment in this anthology feels relatable because people are actually struggling to survive in the gig economy right now. How did the two of you come up with the idea of creating Grind?
Brea Grant: Like you said, we were trying to come up with a cool idea that seemed relevant right now. The thing that everyone we know is talking about is the economy, the lack of work, and the nightmare hellscape that is late-stage capitalism. It felt like the right time to write something that really featured that as the main horror. As the main thing that people were scared of, this world sort of came to us over the course of a couple of years.
Ed Dougherty: We wanted to make a hit film, and we said, “Let’s make a horror anthology, that’s the most marketable thing there is.” [laughs]
BG: [laughs] Definitely not!
BD: I love anthologies!
ED: We do, too. We feel like it’s kind of an undervalued form of horror film, but it’s a hard sell.
BG: People told us not to make it. They said, “Don’t make an anthology. It’s too hard to sell.” But we did it anyway.
BD: I guess I’m just one of those weirdos who likes anthologies and watches them all.
ED: We believe that there are a lot of weirdos like you out there. It seems like every good horror anthology has a long life, but it’s just getting over the initial hump that’s difficult.
BD: Chelsea Stardust directed some of the segments with the two of you and serves as a producer. How did she first get involved with this project?
BG: The project has a long history. We shot the first segment, which is about multi-level marketing, a couple of years ago. We had decided we wanted to make a full anthology, but it took us about a year after shooting that initial segment to shoot the rest of the movie. When we did that, we knew we needed to bring on a producer aside from Ed and me, since we were directing the bulk of the movie, so that was how she came on board. I’ve been friends with her for a long time, and the one thing I know about her as a friend is that she is very organized, so it felt like a good fit. I just called her one day and said, “Would you want to produce these three segments that we have left to shoot of Grind?” and she came on board.
BD: There are some fun cameos in Grind, but we have to talk about Barbara Crampton. She’s so good as a villainess. Why did you want her for this role, and what was it like working with her on this film?
BG: She’s in her villain era, which is so fun. [laughs] Obviously, we’re huge Barbara Crampton fans, and when we were making MLM, it was a smaller part of the movie that we knew we needed to call on people who could do a good job but were also friendly to us [laughs]. I’m friends with Barbara Crampton, and we’ve done three movies together before this. So, it felt like someone within our reach, but could also really draw a horror crowd. She has a huge fanbase, and she’s also super supportive of all the projects that she’s been in, so that was also really exciting. She’s a great actress, and she’s super funny. I think a lot of these horror actresses, especially those who came up in the eighties and nineties, weren’t given an opportunity to be funny. I think she was ready to jump on an opportunity that was different than what she was used to; it’s not running around and screaming. She is a cult leader, and she is quite funny in it. She just takes the comedy so well and seriously, and she does such an amazing job with it. She has a scene across from Rob Huebel, who is obviously a comedy master, and I feel like the two of them together were hilarious. It’s been fun to watch Barbara go from these iconic roles to a different kind of role at this point in her career. We’re super happy to be a part of that.
ED: And she loves the movie and has been so supportive. Every time she posts about it, I’m like, “I can’t believe this. This is amazing.”
BD: This is an accurate parody of the current socioeconomic situation in this country, as well as our obsession with online culture. It repeatedly asks the question, “What are you willing to do to make money,” in a world with wealth inequality and evil oligarchs. It’s fun, and it’s a horror movie, but it’s thought-provoking. What do you hope audiences take away from Grind, besides having a good time?
ED: I read every review and every Letterboxd review; Brea does not. So, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen some reviews that say, “Good movie but doesn’t propose a solution.” I think we do propose a solution, which is that the power of unions and organizing is the only way that we will be able to fight back against oligarchs. I do think that is the message of the film. Organizing is the only way to defeat these villains. I do think we have a lot to say in the film. I’d want someone to say, “Man, I’ve never seen a horror anthology that had a political message before.” [laughs]
BG: I think the other thing is that what is currently happening is that we live in a world in which people kind of feel alone in this. They’re like, “Well, I’m doing bad, “or “I’m having trouble paying my rent.” We wanted to hang a lantern on the fact that this is happening to everyone, that wealth disparity is at an all-time high. We’re pointing out to people that you aren’t in this alone; you’re not the only person doing side hustles. Every filmmaker friend I have is working a side job of some sort at this point, and that is just in Los Angeles. Outside of this city, I think things are more dire. I think it was about infusing some politics into something that could make people realize that they aren’t alone and that there are ways of fighting back and fighting the system that has been set up against them.
ED: I think the tone of the movie, which is darkly comedic, also really matches the tone of life right now. Everything seems almost at a parody level as far as the disconnect between oligarchs and trying to make a living and reality. The absurdist nature of the film kind of captures the real tone of life.
BD: There are some cool creature effects and makeup effects in this movie. Can you talk a little bit about the practical effects and makeup?
ED: I think especially because of the message of the film, which is pushing back against the current hellscape we’re in, we wanted to use as many practical effects as possible. We used matte paintings, miniatures, and practical creature effects. I’m always afraid of the matte painting because we used the old school matte painter, but they do look a little AI. I heard someone make a noise behind me during one of the shots, and I was like, “I hope that noise wasn’t them using AI because that’s a matte painting.” [laughs] There’s also the fact that it’s pretty DIY. It’s a film that we financed ourselves and shot in our houses as much as possible. We wanted the whole thing to feel handmade and very tactile.
BG: We’re old school horror fans, so we love seeing practical effects. The practical stuff is really fun for us. It’s the stuff that we think is actually cool. [laughs] So, practical stuff made the most sense for us. We both grew up in the punk scene in the nineties, and I think it just kind of comes naturally to us to try to do things ourselves. And we both work on projects for big companies, with smaller companies, but always for other people, so trying to do something ourselves to see what that felt like was also part of the experiment of Grind.
ED: This was our chance to do everything we wanted our way.
Grind screens at the Chattanooga Film Festival on June 20.
You must be logged in to post a comment.