UPDATE: Here’s the trailer.
Sam Raimi’s “Send Help” is being billed as his return to the horror genre. The last horror project Raimi directed was 2009’s “Drag Me to Hell.” We finally have our first-look images courtesy of EW.
“Send Help,” which wrapped production early this year and stars Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, and Denis Haysbert, is slated for release on January 30, 2026, via 20th Century Studios. It’s an unusual placement, as the early months of the year are typically when studios offload titles they’re less confident in.
That doesn’t seem to be the case here. “Send Help” is a hybrid of comedy, adventure, and horror about Linda, a female employee, and her irritating boss, Bradley, whose plane crashes on an island—with only the two of them making it out alive. Linda has serious survival skills, which means she’s Bradley’s only hope to stay alive.
Take it for whatever it’s worth, but “Send Help” has test-screened very well over the past few months. This is a return to Raimi’s twisted roots with a vengeance—a gleefully demented morality tale pitting morally bankrupt characters against each other in a constant game of one-upmanship. Bloody, grotesque, and comedic.
Apparently, there’s a “very wicked” ending only Raimi could get away with—real, sadistic stuff, the kind Raimi does best. He torments his leads, bathes them in fluids and blood, and dares the audience to keep caring. It’s mean, stylish, and absolutely thrilling. A guaranteed R rating.
Raimi, a highly influential genre filmmaker, has only directed two movies in the last twelve years—“Oz the Great and Powerful” and “Doctor Strange 2”—neither of which were in his wheelhouse or particularly alluring to his diehard fans.
“Send Help,” which has been described as “Misery” meets “Cast Away,” was penned by A Quiet Place duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. The original draft, before Beck and Woods came in to rewrite the whole thing, came from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (“Freddy vs. Jason,” “Baywatch”).
With a signature horror-comedy style that’s been imitated by many, Raimi’s influence cannot be overstated. His best work includes “Army of Darkness,” “Evil Dead II,” “A Simple Plan,” “Darkman,” “Drag Me to Hell,” and “Spider-Man 2.” In Raimi we trust—and it looks like he might have a winner here.
