Send Help (2026)

DIRECTED BY

Sam Raimi 

STARRING 

Rachel McAdams - Linda Liddle 

Dylan O’Brien - Bradley Preston 

Edyll Ismail - Zuri 

Dennis Haysbert - Franklin 

Xavier Samuel - Donovan 

Genre - Thriller/Horror/Comedy 

Running Time - 113 Minutes 

PLOT

Two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive. 

REVIEW

I’m sure if you ask mainstream audiences the first thing they think of when it comes to director/producer Sam Raimi, it’s probably the mega-successful SPIDER-MAN trilogy of the 2000s. While those films are mostly great, us horror fans know the man for scaring us and/or making us laugh with his immortal THE EVIL DEAD trilogy. The same fans who recognize his work on beloved cult classics like DARKMAN, THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, THE GIFT and DRAG ME TO HELL. Raimi also brought some blood and scares to his last film, the successful DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS despite Disney fighting him on certain horror elements to please a bigger audience. So it’s nice to see Raimi back in full horror mode in 2026’s SEND HELP, a film that had me hooked the moment it was announced due to Raimi and the casting of both Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien - two actors I enjoy on screen. Having these two actors antagonize each other on a desert island in devious ways had to be a fun time at the theater. And I was right, as SEND HELP is another highlight in Raimi’s filmography.

SEND HELP is pretty much a story about power dynamics between the sexes and the classes. Linda Liddle is one of the star employees at her financial management job, using her corporate strategy to keep her company successful. Due to her great work, she is promised a promotion to Vice President. Unfortunately her boss has passed away, now replaced by his frat boy and misogynist son Bradley, who has given the position to his best college friend while looking down on her for her frumpy appearance and eating habits. During a flight to Bangkok for a business meeting, the plane crashes onto a deserted island, leaving only Linda and Bradley as the flight’s sole survivors. While Bradley still attempts to order Linda around, he soon realizes that he has no survival skills on an island. However, Linda does, doing all the hunting and shelter building, proving to Bradley that they’re on her domain now. Despite attempts to get along and work together, Bradley’s ego is so bruised that he just wants to get off the island and go back to his fiancee. Linda, though, finally has control and power in her life, doing everything to make sure she stays on the island - even if she has to keep Bradley prisoner to make it happen. 

In a lot of ways, SEND HELP feels like MISERY but on an island. Bradley hurt his leg due to the plane crash, with Linda reluctantly helping him and making sure he heals up. But she keeps certain information from him and makes him reliant on her, keeping him as an unknowing prisoner as revenge for how he has treated her and other women at their workplace. Things become more interesting as we realize, through backstories, why the two characters feel justified in how they treat others. You start to sympathize with both Linda and Bradley and get how they got to be in their current positions to begin with. But Bradley still wants to go back to his old, upper class life while Linda, feeling she has nothing left at home, refuses to find any way of getting off the island to maintain her power over Bradley. This is where the power struggle begins for both the characters and the audience because you go back-and-forth on who to root for here. Linda is the wronged party from the start, but she becomes violently power hungry as the film rolls on. Bradley is a jerk, but it’s due to his neglectful upbringing, using his behavior as a defense mechanism. But he never really changes who he is either, despite all that. I think writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon do a fantastic job in giving both characters depth and putting each one in a grey area. You definitely root for one character over the other, but there are times where you start questioning your opinion. It’s not a black-and-white world here, which makes the antagonistic nature between our two main characters a lot of fun to watch.

Sam Raimi is in fine form here behind the lens, giving us enough Raimi-isms to make the audience aware that, visually, this is his movie. While it never goes off the rails, in terms of visuals and violence, like his EVIL DEAD films, there are definitely moments where you smile because you know Raimi is having fun. We get the classic first person point-of-view shots where the camera is just zooming all over the place. We get moments where Linda will hunt an animal for sustenance and the animal’s blood gushes on her as if she’s Ash Williams. There is quirky framing of shots that make you laugh because they’re so unserious. And there’s a torture scene that gives us extreme close-ups that raise the tension tenfold. This is a more subtle Raimi, who only brings out the goods when the story calls for it. And I thought the use of the island location was wonderful, with gorgeous shots that display both paradise and dread. Some of the CGI is spotty, especially with the animals, but it’s not a total eyesore. 

What really makes SEND HELP a film to watch is the chemistry between the two lead actors. I’ve been a fan of Dylan O’Brien since MTV’s Teen Wolf days and he’s only gotten better with each project he takes part of. SEND HELP is no exception, as O’Brien really brings out Bradley’s rich, frat boy persona. He’s believably misogynistic and has tantrums whenever he can’t use power on a woman. But O’Brien never goes too far with it, as he gives you glimpses that it may all be a front and he’s just really scared. There are times where you feel sorry for him, which can be challenging to play considering Bradley is a huge jerk. And O’Brien is just so likable as an actor that it almost feels a bit miscast. But he makes it work and shares a fun, frenemy chemistry with Rachel McAdams.

Speaking of McAdams, I think SEND HELP may contain one of the best performances of her career. McAdams plays Linda as this meek, frumpy, insecure and totally socially awkward woman from the start. Along the way, she transforms into this confident and powerful woman, who unfortunately becomes corrupted by that power once she has a real taste of it. She goes from prey to predator throughout the film and it’s believable every step of the way because McAdams captures that change perfectly. From her body language, to the way she dresses, and to the way she speaks to Bradley [which totally evolves], McAdams becomes someone to be wary of. Considering she has the most meat to chew on here, it’s not surprising how much fun McAdams is playing every emotional beat of this character. You can tell she and O’Brien had a blast making this movie, which makes it fun for the audience too.

And any film with Blondie on the soundtrack scores points with me. From “Rip Her to Shreds” to “One Way or Another”, the needledrops are pretty on point. Also, props to Danny Elfman for an engaging musical score. 

THE FINAL HOWL

One of my most anticipated films of 2026, Sam Raimi’s SEND HELP does not disappoint. While not Raimi’s most memorable visually, Raimi still manages to let the audience know he’s at the helm here. While most of the film is very subtle, capturing the bland office setting while later showcasing the beautiful island location to create a bleak paradise, the Raimi tropes do make their presence when the story calls for it. First person zooms. Gushing crimson that sprays on people. Extreme close ups to raise tension and terror. The Raimi horror maker is here and much welcomed.

Helping the visuals are the strong performances by both Dylan O’Brien and [especially] Rachel McAdams, who have great antagonistic chemistry as the two play off each other to see who can outdo the other. The shift in power dynamics between the two is a wild ride, as you sympathize with one over the other, which will then switch vice-versa, then make you feel sorry for both characters, until it shifts right back to the start. The simple writing allows both O’Brien and McAdams to flesh out their characters through body language and facial expressions, which tells their stories more than any dialogue could. It also helps that the two are clearly having fun, which makes it fun for the audience as well.

While I hope we get Raimi to making more horror films in a much crazier style like his older work [there were glimpses in DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS], SEND HELP is still a fine piece of work that I highly recommend if you’re looking for a well-made survival thriller.

SCORE

3 Howls Outta 4

(8 out of 10)