There is a specific kind of cinematic joy that only Sam Raimi can provide. It is that precarious, dizzying sensation of being at the top of a roller coaster just before it plunges into a vat of something both disgusting and hilarious. With Send Help (2026), Raimi finally steps back from the massive machinery of superhero blockbusters to give us his most personal and unhinged work in years. Produced by 20th Century Studios in collaboration with Raimi Productions and TSG Entertainment, this film arrived with high expectations following its star-studded premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on January 21, 2026.
The story is deceptively simple: Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), a hardworking employee from her company’s Planning and Strategy Department, and Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), the newly minted and somewhat arrogant CEO, are the only survivors of a catastrophic plane crash. Stranded on a remote, uninhabited island, they are forced to contend not just with the elements, but with a history of professional grievances and a shifting power dynamic that quickly turns toxic. While it sounds like a standard survival drama, the presence of Raimi behind the camera ensures that this is something much darker and more satirical. It is a battle of wits that explores how quickly civility evaporates when the corporate ladder is replaced by a literal fight for life.
Story and Screenplay: A Savage Deconstruction of the Social Contract
The script, penned by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, is a lean and mean piece of writing that clocks in at a tight 113 minutes. Known for their work on high-concept genre pieces, Shannon and Swift have crafted a narrative that functions as both a survival thriller and a biting satire of modern office politics. The pacing is relentless. From the moment the plane goes down, the film never stops to let the audience catch their breath. The structure is built around the escalating friction between Linda and Bradley, and the screenplay does a fantastic job of keeping the viewer guessing about who to root for as the situation becomes increasingly dire.
One of the script's greatest strengths is its refusal to rely on easy tropes. Usually, in these types of "island survival" stories, characters fall into predictable roles. Here, the writers lean into the "battle of wills" aspect with a wicked sense of irony. Bradley’s CEO posturing is useless in a place where there are no boards to answer to, and Linda’s strategic mind turns out to be a double-edged sword when she decides she’s tired of being a subordinate. The themes of corporate resentment and the fragility of social hierarchy are woven into the dialogue without ever feeling like a lecture. However, the script does occasionally struggle to balance its more grounded, "semi-realistic" moments with the sudden bursts of "go-for-broke loopiness" that Raimi fans expect. There are times when the tonal shifts feel a bit jagged, but for most of the runtime, the screenplay maintains a gripping, razor-sharp edge.
Acting and Characters: A Career-Best Performance from McAdams
If there is one reason to see Send Help, it is Rachel McAdams. She has always been a versatile actress, but here she taps into a reservoir of manic energy and "darkly humorous" intensity that we haven't seen from her since her iconic turn in Mean Girls. As Linda Liddle, she starts as a recognizable professional woman, but as the island takes its toll, McAdams allows the character to "break bad" with an infectious sense of abandon. She navigates the character's transition from a victim of circumstance to a complicated, almost villainous figure with an incredible emotional range. It is an indelible performance that makes Linda feel much more layered than your typical horror protagonist.
Dylan O’Brien is the perfect foil for McAdams. Playing the "slick, C-suite antagonist," O’Brien brings a punchable quality to Bradley Preston that is essential for the film's conflict to work. He portrays Bradley not as a mustache-twirling villain, but as a man whose entire identity is built on a foundation of entitlement and unearned authority. The chemistry between the two is electric, largely because it is built on a foundation of mutual loathing. Their interactions are "interestingly caricatured," which fits the film's heightened reality, but they both find moments of "genuine hurt and anguish" that keep the stakes feeling real. The supporting cast, including Dennis Haysbert and Bruce Campbell (in a typically welcome appearance), provides solid foundations, though the film is primarily a two-person showcase.
Direction and Technical Aspects: Raimi Unbound
Sam Raimi is a director who treats the camera like a participant in the mayhem. In Send Help, we see the return of the "fever-pitch flourishes" that made his early career so legendary. Even though the film is set in a "semi-realistic" environment, the camera is never static. It careens around the island, utilizing "soundstage-like" artifice to create a sense of claustrophobia despite the wide-open setting. This is only his second non-IP film since the first Spider-Man, and you can feel his excitement at not being tethered to a pre-existing universe.
The visual composition is a mix of beautiful naturalism and stylized horror imagery. The cinematography captures the isolation of the island while making the "darkly humorous" violence pop with a certain comic-book flair. Raimi manages the production with a confident hand, ensuring that even when the film gets "messy," it feels intentional. The editing is sharp, particularly during the more "mayhem-machine" sequences where the tension reaches a breaking point. It’s a reminder that while Raimi can handle massive blockbusters, he is arguably at his best when he is working on a smaller, more intimate scale where his "loopiness" can truly shine.
Trailer Send Help (2026)
Music and Atmosphere: A Soundscape of Desperation and Wit
The atmosphere of Send Help is one of its most potent weapons. It is a "ghastly and hilarious" environment where the sound of the ocean is as threatening as the dialogue. The score does a magnificent job of mirroring the film's shifting tones. At times, it is a traditional survival thriller soundtrack, full of tension and low-frequency dread. At others, it takes on a more whimsical, almost absurd quality that underscores the ridiculousness of two adults fighting over corporate status while they are dying of thirst.
The sound design is particularly effective at making the island feel alive. Every rustle in the trees and every snap of a twig is amplified to keep both the characters and the audience on edge. This "audio landscape" enhances the experience by making the isolation feel physical. It creates a mood that is both "unsettling" and "wickedly funny," allowing the audio to tell parts of the story that the visuals only hint at. When the violence does erupt, the sound is visceral and impactful, ensuring that the "horror" part of the "horror-thriller" genre is fully realized.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Rachel McAdams' Tour-de-Force: A spectacular performance that balances vulnerability with a terrifyingly funny "heel-turn" that anchors the entire movie.
- Sam Raimi's Signature Style: The film is a masterclass in dynamic directing, featuring the kinetic camera work and "go-for-broke" energy that fans have been craving.
- Sharp Social Satire: The way the film skewers corporate hierarchy and "C-suite" entitlement through the lens of survival is both clever and satisfying.
- Tense Pacing: With a 113-minute runtime, the film moves like a bullet, transitioning from the crash to the final battle without any unnecessary fluff.
- Complicated Character Dynamics: Linda and Bradley are not one-dimensional archetypes; their grievances feel rooted in a reality that many audience members will recognize.
Weaknesses:
- Tonal Inconsistency: The jump between grounded human drama and Raimi's "loopier" flourishes can be jarring, occasionally making the film feel "messy."
- "Playing the Hits" Imagery: Some of the visual cues and camera tricks might feel a bit overly familiar to those who have memorized Raimi’s filmography.
- Abrupt Secondary Characters: While the focus is on the leads, some of the other crash survivors (played by Edyll Ismail and Xavier Samuel) feel like they exist purely to move the plot toward the central "battle of wills."
- Occasional Soundstage Artifice: Certain island environments feel a bit too controlled and "set-like," which can momentarily break the immersion of the survival setting.
Final Verdict: A Macabre Masterpiece for Genre Enthusiasts
Rating: 4/5 stars
Send Help is a glorious, mean-spirited, and ultimately joyful return to form for Sam Raimi. It is a film that isn't afraid to be "ghastly" or "unsettling" while maintaining a wicked sense of humor that targets the absurdity of the modern workplace. While it might not reach the absolute perfect synthesis of human frailty and madness found in a masterpiece like Spider-Man 2, it is a thrilling reminder of what makes Raimi such a unique voice in cinema. It is a "survival thriller" that cares less about finding water and more about finding a way to get the last word in an argument.
This film is a mandatory watch for anyone who misses the Sam Raimi of the Evil Dead or Drag Me to Hell era. If you enjoy dark comedies that aren't afraid to push their characters into truly "complicated" and sometimes ugly places, you will find a lot to love here. Rachel McAdams fans should also consider this required viewing, as it showcases her in a light we haven't seen in over two decades. However, if you prefer your survival dramas to be grim, realistic, and devoid of "comic-book throwbacks," the tonal shifts and "loopiness" might be a bit too much for you. For the rest of us, Send Help is a gruesome, riotous, and expertly managed nightmare that is worth every second of the ride.
Recommendation: Go see this on the biggest screen possible when it hits theaters on January 30. It’s a rare original thriller that manages to be both a crowd-pleaser and a genuinely disturbing piece of genre filmmaking.
 Movie Review: Sam Raimi Returns with a Visceral, Twisted, and Cruelly Comic Survival Thriller that Redefines Corporate Warfare){kind=link}
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