150 Word Review: 'Send Help' (2026)
Outwit. Outplay. Outlast.
Rachel McAdams is marvelously maniacal as Linda Liddle, a mousy office drone who transforms into a confident, cutthroat cross between Robinson Crusoe and Tom Ripley in Sam Raimi’s nasty slapstick thriller Send Help. Raimi is one of the great directors of blockbuster action alongside Spielberg and Cameron, but his heart belongs to the low-budget horror shockers that launched his career.
McAdams and Raimi are perfectly matched, along with Dylan O’Brien as a boorish executive who refuses to promote Linda. When their corporate jet crashes, she saves his life anyway. He’s a swaggering sexist in the office, but he’s useless stranded on a tropical island.
This is a pastiche: part feminist revenge comedy (9 to 5), part deserted-island movie (Castaway, The Blue Lagoon). There’s a Lord of the Flies reference. The reality competition show Survivor gets a shout-out. Raimi still loves jump scares and bodily fluids: there’s copious blood and vomit.
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“Nasty slapstick thriller” is exactly right. I’ve heard it described as a “horror comedy” which doesn’t really describe it. Evil Dead 2 it is not, even though it completely tracks that it’s from the same guy. I will say I inadvertently saw it in 4DX and I can’t imagine a better film for the “moving seats/spray water on you” format.
Yup - I loved this one. :)