Review: Send Help

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

 

“Send Help” is a solid return to horror filmmaking for director Sam Raimi, who hasn’t made a genre movie of this type since 2009’s “Drag Me to Hell.”

The picture has a premise that might seem overly familiar – especially for those who saw Ruben Ostlund’s 2022 film “Triangle of Sadness” – but its lead performance and its increased intensity and over-the-top wackiness make it an overall enjoyable viewing experience.

In the film, Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, an overly earnest and good-natured office drone whose awkward attempts at socialization make her the object of ridicule at the corporate hellscape where she works. The company’s previous owner, who recognized Linda’s accounting talents and had planned to promote her, dies, leaving his asshole son, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), in charge.

Linda tries – awkwardly – to ingratiate herself to Bradley, but he’s having none of it, instead choosing to ogle women who visit the office and elevating his frat-type corporate bros to positions of power – Xavier Samuel’s Donovan gets the vice president role that Linda was originally promised.

After Linda confronts him in his office, Bradley allows her to attend a company trip to Thailand, but the plane malfunctions and crashes – one awful character from Linda’s office gets dispatched in a particularly nasty way – in the ocean. Linda drifts to an island, where she finds Bradley – who’s injured – to be the only other survivor.

Much like Ostlund’s film, “Send Help” finds the underdog character – Linda – in charge, mostly due to her survival skills. Earlier in the picture, we see survivalist books on her apartment’s shelf and we learn that she’s a “Survivor” enthusiast, which is yet another tool in her tormentors’ toolkit once they find out about it.

While Linda thrives in the atmosphere of the island, Bradley is mostly reliant on her. The tables are quickly turned after he tries to remind her that he’s still her boss, and she lets him know that the old rules no longer exist on the island.

But then, the story takes a strange turn. Linda and Bradley actually start to get along and seemingly enjoy one another’s company – at least, that’s how it seems. At various points, the characters are obviously questioning whether they can trust each other – and for good reason.

Things take another turn and the film becomes increasingly violent – a final series of battles are especially grotesque, and there’s even a plot twist involving discoveries on the island. But while the film heads more into horror territory in the finale, it’s still handled with a tongue planted firmly in cheek – and the occasional finger in the eye socket or knife in the ribs. This is, after all, a Raimi film.

While Raimi had veered far from his filmmaking origins in recent years to make numerous comic book movies and a “Wizard of Oz” prequel, it’s great to see him return to the type of filmmaking on which he originally cut his teeth.

His first two “Evil Dead” movies remain staples of the genre and I recall enjoying “Drag Me to Hell.” Although “Send Help” isn’t in the same vein – there’s nothing supernatural about it – it’s still a welcome return for this filmmaker.

And McAdams – whose character begins as a caricature but increasingly unveils surprising depths – gives one of 2026’s first memorable performances. Last year was a very good one for the horror genre – and this film, along with “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” suggests that this year could be a strong one too.