Drop ending explained: Does Violet kill Henry?

Drop is a thriller film directed by Christopher Landon from a screenplay co-written by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach. It premiered at the SXSW on March 9, 2025, and was released in theaters in the United States on April 11, 2025. The film's producers include Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Brad Fuller, Cameron Fuller, and Sam Lerner.

It features Meghann Fahy as a widowed mother, Violet, who is blackmailed into killing her date, Henry, played by Brandon Sklenar. However, Violet does not kill Henry, and the duo successfully takes down the blackmailer.

The film's official synopsis, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"Emmy nominee Meghann Fahy, breakout star of White Lotus and The Perfect Couple, plays Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years, who arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry (It Ends with Us' Brandon Sklenar) is more charming and handsome than she expected."

It continues:

"But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone. She is instructed to tell nobody and follow instructions or the hooded figure she sees on her home security cameras will kill Violet's young son and babysitting sister. Violet must do exactly as directed or everyone she loves will die. Her unseen tormentor's final directive? Kill Henry."

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the movie.

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Violet and Henry go on a memorable first date in Drop

A still of Violet and Henry from the 2025 film (Image via X/@Drop Movie)

Violet Gates, a widowed single mother, prepares to go on a date for the first time since the death of her abusive husband, Blake. Leaving her younger sister, Jen, to look after her son, Toby, she heads to meet the handsome photographer, Henry Campbell. After connecting on a dating app and texting for months, the two finally met in person at Chicago's upscale restaurant, Palate.

During their date, Violet begins receiving unknown Digi-Drops (inspired by Apple's AirDrop) on her phone that soon turn sinister. She checks her security camera, at the dropper's insistence, and finds that a masked gunman has infiltrated her house, knocked her sister out, and locked Toby in his room.

Under the threat of killing Toby, the dropper forces Violet to steal Henry's camera and damage its SD card. He then orders Violet to kill Henry with the vial of poison he left in the women's bathroom. When her attempts at alerting the hotel staff fail, Violet is forced to go along with the plan. She orders two tequila shots and poisons one of them before handing it over to Henry. However, he steps outside to answer an important call before drinking it.

In the meantime, Violet figures out that an older gentleman named Richard, sitting a few tables away from her, is the dropper and confronts him. He admits to being the mastermind behind everything. Just then, Henry walks back in and drinks the poisoned tequila shot. However, Violet reveals that she poisoned the panna cotta Richard just ate, and not Henry's drink.

He shoots Violet in anger, but Henry steps in between and gets shot instead. Richard fires multiple rounds inside the restaurant and ends up damaging the floor-to-ceiling window. As the window collapses behind him, Richard gets pulled back and falls to his death. Violet also falls from the window, but Henry pulls her back in the nick of time.

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Why does Richard want to kill Henry?

An image of Brandon Sklenar as Henry Campbell from the movie (Image via X/@Drop Movie)

Before destroying the SD card, Violet checks out its contents and finds that it includes financial documents related to the city's mayor. Henry, who works as a photographer for the mayor, was secretly collecting incriminating evidence to prove his corruption. The film later reveals that he was working for the FBI as an informant and was planning on testifying against the mayor in court.

Hence, the mayor tasked Richard with eliminating Henry to stop him from exposing his crimes and ruining his reputation. Richard had planned to frame Violet for his murder as he wrongly believed that she had killed her abusive husband in the past. However, flashback scenes reveal that Blake had committed suicide after threatening to harm Violet and their toddler son.

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Does Violet save her son in the end?

An image of the masked intruder from the movie (Image via X/@Drop Movie)

Before his death, Richard had ordered his henchman to kill Toby. Thus, Violet rushes home in Henry's car to save her son and sister. She enters the house to find Jen fighting against the intruder, before he shoots her in the torso. Violet jumps in and stabs the man, who had entered the house earlier under the guise of being a maintenance worker.

As he tries to overpower her, Toby uses his remote-controlled car to pass his mother the spare gun so that she can shoot the intruder dead. A few days later, Violet visits Jen and Henry as they recover in the hospital. Henry's efforts help bring the mayor's crimes into the spotlight. The film ends with Henry and Violet planning their second date.

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Drop is currently playing in theaters across the United States.