Opening in theaters on January 30 is ‘Send Help,’ directed by Sam Raimi and starring Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Dennis Haysbert, and Emma Raimi.
XZlnFSTGbBlYfsrFQWUo64Related Article: The 20 Best Rachel McAdams Movies of All Time!
Initial Thoughts
Imagine ‘Cast Away,’ only with a more sympathetic Annie Wilkes from ‘Misery’ as the lead. Now mix that up with a whole lot of ‘Triangle of Sadness’ and, of course, the TV show ‘Survivor,’ and you might come up with Sam Raimi’s new thriller, ‘Send Help.’
Billed as Raimi’s first horror film since 2009’s ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ ‘Send Help’ is more a darkly comic survival thriller in which the two leads deal with their workplace issues while trying to withstand monsoons, wild boar, poison berries, and each other. Their antics are enormously entertaining, and Rachel McAdams in particular throws herself into her role with as much physical gusto and emotional complexity as possible. It might not be an all-out horror movie, but it might just be Raimi’s best all-around feature in a long while.
Story and Direction
Linda Liddle works in the strategy and planning department of a consulting firm, where she’s a genius at crunching numbers yet awkward in all kinds of social interactions. Still, she’s due for a promotion – until the president of the company passes away and his arrogant, misogynist, nepo-baby son Bradley (Dylan O’Brien) takes over, giving the job to his frat brother instead.
Nevertheless, Linda, a ‘Survivor’ fan who lives in a small apartment with her pet parrot and a whole bunch of foreshadowing – sorry, we mean books on survival and nature – is invited by Bradley with the rest of the execs to a conference in Bangkok to help close a deal. But the private jet crashes in a vicious storm, leaving Linda and Bradley as the only survivors on an uninhabited island somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand.
With Bradley injured, Linda sets about making it possible for them to stay alive – which is where all her books and ‘Survivor’ knowledge comes into play. Although Bradley begins to recover and assert himself, it soon becomes clear that the tables have turned – Linda is the boss now, with Bradley reliant on her to keep them alive and a reborn Linda thriving in a situation that she’s suddenly not too eager to leave.
‘Send Help’ pulls liberally from the films mentioned above, with the reversal of fortune and power right out of ‘Triangle’ director Ruben Östlund’s playbook and the character dynamics coming from both that and ‘Misery.’ As opposed to that Stephen King–Rob Reiner thriller, however, this film keeps the viewer off-balance for most of the way about Linda’s true mental state even when it veers into darker territory. Speaking of which, the final third of the movie does labor a bit to stay on top of its narrative and character turns, also playing a couple of tricks one too many times, but comes back around with a thoroughly satisfying payoff (including a chilling last line).
As he’s done his whole career, Sam Raimi makes ‘Send Help’ a clever combo of morality play, black comedy, and cartoonish gorefest. The director doles out the blood and the wild camera moves with a lot more restraint than he used to (save for one battle with a wild boar), but they’re just as effective as always, and he even manages to squeeze in one outright ‘The Evil Dead’-type jump scare. This is the director at his most energetic and playful, aided enormously by his two leads.
Cast and Performances
Rachel McAdams seems like a perennially underrated actress, possibly because she doesn’t work as constantly as other stars, yet her talents are on full display here as Linda Liddle. McAdams positively owns the role, making Linda’s transformation from cast-off office worker to survivalist warrior believable and layered through both her physical commitment and psychological dexterity (even the ill-fitting clothing that she starts off wearing), with Linda remaining sympathetic throughout even as she takes a darker turn toward the end.
Dylan O’Brien may be equally underrated, and while Bradley is perhaps not as layered a character as Linda, he still manages to give this largely despicable and toxic male just enough shading to make him more than a one-dimensional villain (credit too to screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift for getting some more depth for both onto the page).
And yes, although we missed him ourselves, we’re reliably informed that Bruce Campbell does show up – but you might have to look a little harder to spot him.
Final Thoughts
For most of its length, Sam Raimi finds the right balance of thrills, humor, violence, and character development in ‘Send Help,’ and both McAdams and O’Brien are game for whatever he and the script hurls at them.
The movie wears its themes on its sleeve, but doesn’t come across as heavy-handed. While not the most original work in Sam Raimi’s filmography, this may be his best film since 2004’s ‘Spider-Man 2,’ and certainly his most rewarding. ‘Send Help’ doesn’t need any assistance whatsoever to be the kind of entertaining yet rich thrill ride that Sam Raimi can deliver.
‘Send Help’ receives a score of 85 out of 100.
What is the plot of ‘Send Help’?
The only survivors of a plane crash, two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, where they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive. But it ultimately becomes a battle of wills and wits to see who makes it out alive.
Who is in the cast of ‘Send Help’?
- Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle
- Dylan O’Brien as Bradley Preston
- Edyll Ismail as Zuri
- Xavier Samuel as Donovan
- Chris Pang as Chase
- Dennis Haysbert as Franklin
- Thaneth Warakulnukroh as Boat Captain
- Emma Raimi as River
List of Rachel McAdams Movies and TV Shows:
- ‘The Hot Chick‘ (2002)
- ‘Mean Girls‘ (2004)
- ‘The Notebook‘ (2004)
- ‘Wedding Crashers‘ (2005)
- ‘Red Eye‘ (2005)
- ‘State of Play‘ (2009)
- ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife‘ (2009)
- ‘Sherlock Holmes‘ (2009)
- ‘Midnight in Paris‘ (2011)
- ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows‘ (2011)
- ‘The Vow‘ (2012)
- ‘About Time‘ (2013)
- ‘True Detective‘ (2014 – 2024)
- ‘Southpaw‘ (2015)
- ‘Spotlight‘ (2015)
- ‘Doctor Strange‘ (2016)
- ‘Game Night‘ (2018)
- ‘Disobedience’ (2018)
- ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga‘ (2020)
- ‘What If…?‘ (2021 – 2023)
- ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ (2022)
- ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.‘ (2023)
- ‘Send Help’ (2026)
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