'Send Help' Review
- Joe Kucharski
- a few seconds ago
- 2 min read
Release Date: 01/30/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Horror. Thriller.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: 20th Century Studios.
The Verdict: A Must-See
Send Help is a workplace drama with meeting notes pulled straight from the Necronomicon. A survival thriller powered by a scorned woman’s fury, Send Help marks Sam Raimi’s first non-IP horror outing since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell. What emerges is a horror comedy that gleefully flirts with gore and absurdity while revealing an unexpected restraint from a filmmaker long associated with such spectacle cinema as Evil Dead, Darkman, and something called “Spider-Man”. Fans expecting wall-to-wall chaos may be surprised. In fact, within Raimi’s own oeuvre, Send Help feels closer in spirit to his mystical whodunnit from 2000, The Gift, than to chainsaws and boomsticks.
But with more gore. Obviously.
Written by the screenwriting duo of Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason), Send Help centers on Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), an overlooked strategy manager whose lack of social awareness cues cost her a promotion no thanks to Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), a smarmy, dude-bro CEO who mistakes volume for leadership. As consolation, Linda is invited on a business trip to Thailand. And in a similar fate to the cast of the Minnow, her three-hour flight crashes onto a conveniently hostile tropical island, cutting the pair off from the world, WiFi, and HR. In fact, dare it be said, not a single luxury.
Once stranded, it’s game on as the power dynamic flips fast. Bradley’s bravado proves useless. Meanwhile Linda knows exactly what to do to keep them alive and springs into action. Food, shelter, water, fermentation, and the neurological side effects of certain squid all enter the equation.
Raimi lets the tension simmer as competence becomes currency and desperation turns cruel. The island becomes a hostile boardroom where dominance is earned through skill rather than swagger. And where boars get skewered. Repeatedly.
Raimi blends workplace satire with survival horror all while using a lighter touch than expected. A spectacular crash sequence and the occasional splashes of bodily goo nod to his more unhinged tendencies, but much of the film’s unease comes from quieter turns. Linda’s growing need for control takes on a chilling edge, while Bradley’s frat boy petulance curdles from skeeviness to near criminal behavior. Instead of the slapstick beats of Bruce Campbell or Alison Lohman pratfalls, Raimi keeps McAdams and O’Brien on a tight leash, favoring psychological pressure over cartoon excess.
The result is a lean, nasty, and surprisingly mature Raimi outing. Send Help proves that the director still knows how to twist the knife without spinning the camera. This is a reminder that Raimi doesn’t need a franchise, a superhero suit, or a possessed cabin to have fun. Sometimes all he needs is the quiet satisfaction of filming someone lose control.
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