Sam Raimi is back in form, and he’s given us a film that feels like a homecoming to his most twisted instincts. “Send Help” is gleefully sadistic, a morality play where greed, vanity, and cruelty collide in a constant game of escalation. It’s violent, grotesque, and, above all, darkly funny — at least in the way we’ve come to expect from Raimi.
Firstly, let me just tackle the reviews, which are quite good. Currently, the film sits at 73 on Metacritic and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is well deserved.
There’s infectious energy in this silly, but at the same time deadly serious, parable — I loved the kinetic mix of horror and comedy, and it’s thrilling to see Raimi use his talent for atmosphere and character here after a rough stretch of IP films over the last few decades. In fact, this is quite easily Raimi’s best work since “Drag Me to Hell,” a film that similarly took real glee in messing around with its audience.
How to describe “Send Help”? I guess it’s a hybrid, of sorts — comedy, adventure, and horror all wrapped into a box. Rachel McAdams plays Linda, a female employee, and her irritating soulless boss Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), who hates her and, after inheriting daddy’s business, is very close to firing her. They both go on a business trip with a few other colleagues, only to have their plane crash on an island, with only the two of them making it out alive.
Linda, who has an unhealthy obsession with the show Survivor, has serious survival skills, which means she’s Bradley’s only hope of staying alive. She flourishes on the island, savoring every opportunity to showcase her talents. Bradley, at first impressed by her abilities, may not stay that way for long—his arrogance often gets in the way. He’s almost as sociopathic as Patrick Bateman.
Once the story lands on the island, the audience is put through the wringer. There’s genuine sadism here—the kind that makes you squirm in your seat while marveling at the craft. The leads are tormented, drenched in blood, and forced through absurdly brutal situations, all while Raimi dares you to keep rooting for them. It’s mean, it’s stylish, and it’s exactly the kind of wild ride only he can deliver. As far as January releases go, I don’t think we can do better than this film.
McAdams is amazing here — I’ve always been a fan of hers, and she pulls off quite the balancing act: equal parts over-the-top and meticulously precise. Raimi gives her character a tinge of theatricality, and she doesn’t just inhabit it — she owns it, turning in an infectiously devious and playful performance. She’s one of the most talented and underrated actresses we got out there.
Tonally, the film is all over the place, and that’s maybe why it just falls short of greatness, and its climactic twist doesn’t totally gel with the rest of the film, but the end result is so entertaining, and never boring, that it simply doesn’t matter. Raimi uses the chaotic fun of “Drag Me to Hell” and the bare-knuckled tension of “A Simple Plan” to make his own kind of deserted island movie — one which I’ve frankly not really seen done before.
Raimi has been rumored to direct ‘Doctor Strange 3’ next, which is still in development, but maybe that’s not a good idea — he should build on the momentum from “Send Help” and strive to give us another nasty genre gem like this one. Not many filmmakers can pull off this kind of movie, and after many years of us wondering if he’d lost his way, Raimi proves he’s still a cinematic oddity — in the best sense of the term.
Wait, what? According to Deadline, Paul Feig is going to direct an “Italian Job” sequel for Paramount. No word yet on cast returns. A writer is supposed to be hired soon for the script.