REVIEW: Sam Raimi Returns to Form in Thrilling and Hilarious ‘Send Help’

Christopher Mills
19 minutes ago
3 min read

Rachel McAdams covered in blood, holding a knife, and screaming. Text reads "Review Send Help" — *Send Help* © 20th Century Studios

Everyone knows and loves Sam Raimi for several reasons, two of them being that he created one of the most iconic horror franchises with The Evil Dead and also brought Spider-Man into mainstream Hollywood with his trilogy. While Raimi dipped his fingers into the MCU with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it wasn’t the horror sequel that fans wanted, and it wasn’t a full showcase of what Sam Raimi was capable of.

17 years after his last full-blown horror movie, Drag Me to Hell, Raimi arrives with the survival thriller/horror Send Help, which finds Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), a corporate strategist who finds herself dealing with a horrible new boss who treats her badly. After a plane crash, they become the only two survivors on an isolated island where the roles reverse and Linda gains all the power in their relationship.

2026 has started itself quite well with horror movies, but Send Help is unlike anything we’ve gotten so far and, in all honesty, is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the horror genre. Linda is a hard-working woman who has been working towards a promotion which escapes her when Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) takes over as CEO from his deceased father, who plans to promote his golfing buddy instead.

We get an inside look at her life, which is quite apparently lonely, as she spends time at home, drinking wine, watching Survivor and spending time with her pet parrot. A lot isn’t known about her past until later on in the film, where she opens up about herself in a scene that provides a break from all the tension that has taken place.

Rachel McAdams as Linda sitting on a log in Send Help — Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle in *Send Help.* © 20th Century Studios

It’s easy to compare this movie to many other survival films. One that quickly comes to mind is Triangle of Sadness, which, despite the comparisons, Send Help had been in development ahead of. Unlike Triangle of Sadness, Send Help doesn’t spend too much of its time away from the island. It uses roughly its first 20 to 30 minutes to discuss an overall problem that persists in today’s world: misogyny in the workplace.

Even when it seems like Bradley compromises, allowing Linda to come along on the Hong Kong trip, he and his band of disgusting men still find ways to belittle her, embarrass her and make her feel worthless. Well, too bad for Bradley because dying in the plane crash probably would’ve been a better outcome for him than surviving because now, he’s living in Linda’s world.

From Linda watching Survivor to her collection of survival guides, the audience is shown that being trapped on an island is likely a dream come true for Linda, while it’s an absolute nightmare for Bradley. Rachel McAdams gives arguably one of the best performances in her career, playing a character that can seem so innocent and sweet one second but then the next is unhinged, deranged and the most dangerous person on the island. Dylan O’Brien paired with McAdams makes for a very entertaining and captivating performance as we see the night and day differences between the two and how Bradley must be forced to use his brains for once if he wants to return back home.

Rachel McAdams as Linda cradles an injured Dylan O'Brien as Bradey in Send Help — Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle and Dylan O'Brien as Bradley Preston in *Send Help*. © 20th Century Studios

Send Help is classified as a horror, but it isn’t remotely scary, aside from the one jump-scare that easily might be the scariest I’ve seen because of how unexpected it was. It is a full return to form for Sam Raimi, as it brings him back to his roots with the practical effects. There’s some obvious dodgy CGI in the movie when it comes to Linda facing a boar, but outside of that, this movie looks fantastic, from its costume design to the hair and makeup, which does an incredible job of putting both Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien through a rough time.

Send Help does a great job of keeping you on edge as it alludes to you believing one thing and then doing the complete opposite. It’ll have you switching teams throughout before you completely decide on one by the end (and there is a right answer). Sam Raimi has a lot of fun with this movie as he brings his stylistic camerawork and editing to the film, which helps to make the journey feel unsettling, keeping the audience on its toes at all times.