Director: Sam Raimi
What Is Send Help About?
Send Help is a survival horror-thriller about an overlooked office worker named Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) who is promised a promotion at her company but is humiliated when the new CEO, her arrogant boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), gives the job to someone else. Soon after, Linda joins Bradley and several coworkers on a business trip, but their plane crashes during a storm. Linda and Bradley end up stranded together on a remote island, where their tense workplace rivalry turns into a dangerous struggle for survival. As they try to find food, shelter, and a way off the island, the power dynamic between them shifts dramatically.
My Personal Thoughts:
When I first saw the trailer for Send Help, it immediately set intrigue. I have not seen Rachel McAdams play in a horror movie to this degree, so I was curious to see what kind of role they would give her and how well she would execute it. I decided to see the premiere of this movie, and well, it did not quite live up to my expectations. There are certainly good moments and good fun to be had, but it ultimately fell short in some pretty important aspects.
For starters, I know this will be a controversial take, but I have never been a huge fan of Sam Raimi’s work. Outside of Spider-Man, I don’t love his films. Evil Dead is not a franchise for me, and while I have only seen the original and the remake, neither did click with me. His styling, along with the overusage of gore when it is not needed, ends up seeming a little silly and takes me out of the mood of the movie, and this was once again felt with Send Help.
The movie starts with plenty of interest. I loved the dynamic of both Linda and Bradley, and how Linda just wants to be seen as an important role in her corporate world, but constantly gets overlooked. Bradley does not give any time to Linda, and this felt like a perfect setup for where the movie was going to go. I like the idea of having a character who is at the top of the food chain in Bradley, and then this completely switches the moment they get on the island. Once they finally arrive on the island, the transformation that Linda’s character takes is a very impressive performance of character development, and it was the most interesting part of the entire film for me. From the survivor instincts of building shelter, catching and killing the food, and owning every aspect of making things happen, she becomes the true boss, versus how she felt in her corporate world job. Rachel McAdams steals the show here, and it is very clear this is her movie from the moment it starts. There is one particular sequence in the movie that will definitely be one to remember in 2026, based on the reactions my theatre had. The way Sam Raimi can convey tension with what is about to happen, and how much you want to squirm based on the reactions of each character, is very intense. Without saying anything else, if you’ve seen this film, you know the exact moment I am talking about.
Where this movie falls flat is the effect of CGI, a very out-of-place wild boar scene that ended up more goofy than anything, and an ending that did not totally deliver the big reveal type of moment that it wanted to. It has the feel of a movie where you can guess the direction it will go from the first couple of scenes, so it was pretty much a waiting game of getting to that point of what you ultimately expect, with a few twists and turns added in. I do think this movie was advertised in the wrong light. I found it to be more of a horror/comedy, but it seemed to be marketed with a much heavier emphasis on survival horror. I also noticed that there were many effects that were being targeted toward a 3D type release, and this really gets annoying the first time you catch it. Certain objects are held too long and zoomed in too much so that every time it’s a 3D moment, you can pick it out right away. Even with the digital help this film receives, the scenery was great, making it a visually pretty film to look at for a little under 2 hours.
Movie Stub Rating
The film mixes suspense, dark humor, and horror elements as the two characters clash psychologically and physically while facing the brutal realities of being stranded, so this is an area where people will want to see the outcome and how it plays out. I enjoyed this movie, but it felt inconclusive and silly in certain moments where tension should have been at the focal point, but was missed. Go in with moderate expectations, and you’ll have a good time.
