Send Help
January 26th, 2025
MOVIE: SEND HELP
STARRING: RACHEL MCADAMS, DYLAN O’BRIEN, DENNIS HAYSBERT
DIRECTED BY: SAM RAIMI
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 ½ STARS (Out of 4)
RATED: R
RUN TIME: 113 MINUTES
The language of cinema is a beautiful thing- especially when it comes from the mind of Sam Raimi. The director of classics like The Evil Dead, Spider-Man 2, and Drag Me to Hell has always operated with a signature style: cameras thrust into characters’ faces, rapid, kinetic movement, an overwhelming sense of anxiety, and, of course, plenty of blood splatter. We can rejoice once again, because Raimi has returned with his desert-island survival film Send Help, and it is full-blown Raimi. Featuring a wild lead performance from Rachel McAdams and an original spin on a battle of the sexes, Send Help marks the master of madness’s ruthless return.
The film centers on Linda Liddle (McAdams), and she is nothing if not memorable. A woman in her forties who eats tuna sandwiches at her desk, lives alone with her pet parakeet, and works as an assistant at a hedge fund firm, Linda has been promised a VP promotion after seven years of loyalty. That promise evaporates when the company president dies and his privileged son, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), takes over. In a sexist corporate environment where being a former frat brother or golf buddy matters more than actual productivity, Linda is given one last shot: attend a corporate merger meeting before the bro party kicks her to the curb. Fortunately, she’s not someone who gives up on herself easily.
The screenplay by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift sets the stage effectively before kicking into high gear when the private jet encounters turbulence and crashes. Suddenly, Linda and Bradley are the only two survivors, stranded on a remote island. It quickly becomes clear that Linda is far more capable than anyone might expect. Bradley, meanwhile, has an injured leg- and is so painfully delicate that he wouldn’t know how to start a fire without a Bic lighter. What follows is a battle of wits and endurance, a constant struggle between two people forced to coexist. Linda finds a strange peace in isolation, while Bradley grows increasingly desperate to escape the island’s misery.
But this is still a Sam Raimi movie, which means moments designed to make you squirm. Linda’s brutal killing of a wild boar is easily one of the gnarliest scenes of 2026, and it’s here that the Raimi–McAdams collaboration truly clicks. McAdams is operating on an entirely different level, delivering an unhinged mix of humor, deception, warmth, and unpredictability. It’s Misery on an island, and this is McAdams’ Annie Wilkes. That said, O’Brien deserves credit as well, perfectly embodying the arrogant, entitled bro whose supposed successes make him an ideal adversary.
It’s shocking to encounter a film as fresh as Send Help so early in the year, though it’s no surprise to see Raimi at the top of his game when given a blank check. While a few minor flaws could benefit from greater scrutiny, they’re not enough to hinder what is otherwise an original hit. It’s horror. It’s thrilling. It speaks directly to the current tensions between men and women in the workplace. Send Help feels like a perfect encapsulation of the times we’re living in: we’re all stranded on our own islands- some of us know how to survive, and some of us don’t. No matter what, Sam Raimi has taken us back to genre-movie paradise. Send Help is an absolutely unhinged splash.
3 ½ STARS
SEND HELP IS PLAYING IN THEATERS FRIDAY, JANUARY 30TH, 2026.
Written by: Leo Brady
