The hunt is on as a government assassin comes out of retirement to track down a killer extraterrestrial murdering the former members of his team in this science fiction thriller set in an alternate future America.
Syfy Wire recently had an article about rewatching the much-maligned After Earth. The author, Chris Worthington, discusses how when Will Smith’s character tells his son (played by his real-life son, Jaden) to take a knee, it is more relevant nowadays than when the movie initially came out. That is because occasionally timing is everything. A book or movie coming out at just the right moment can seize upon the social and political climate in a way that gives it an urgency that would be lost at any other time. Conversely, a piece of work might land too early and just not fit the mood of the times; a release being too late means feeling dated right out of the gate.
I have no way of knowing when writer-director Wayne Slaten wrote the first draft for his sci-fi thriller Dropa, but it couldn’t come out at a better time. In 1986, the Communist Party of the American Federation saw humanoid creatures named Dropa enter society. They were used as slave labor until 2009 when an airborne disease, originating from the alien lifeforms, caused countless deaths. Thus, The Party, set up the Legion to dispose of the Dropa. Five years on, the Legion is disbanded, and the Dropa are exterminated.
Or are they? A murder in the alleyway near a dive bar suggests that a Dropa may still be on Earth. Now it is up to former Legion member Harrison (David Matranga) to track down the killer, Mikhail (Jason Douglas), and understand why this is happening. His investigation leads him to the truth of who the Dropa are, who he is, and what the Communist Party of the American Federation is after.
Dropa is awash in Soviet imagery, as Communism is in charge. As Harrison and those helping him uncover scandals and corruption, it is impossible not to recall real-life headlines about the 26 Russians that have been indicted in the Mueller probe. This parallel gives the thriller a sense of relevancy and poignancy that never leaves.