Send Help (2026)

What if your boss was a REALLY ungrateful, unpleasant person and you ended up trapped on a deserted island alone with JUST him?? 

Well that's the tantalizing premise laid for out for this raucous new comedy thriller from the legendary Sam Raimi who directed both the Spider-Man trilogy in the early '00's along with his now iconic Evil Dead trilogy.  Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner, Saturday Night) plays the boss and the beleaguered employee who has suprising survival skills is played by Oscar-nominee Rachel McAdams (Spotlight, Mean Girls, The Notebook).  And needless to say....things get pretty bloody!

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon  

Transcript

Send Help – 2026

Directed by Sam Raimi

Starring Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, and Dennis Haysbert

Genre: Survival Thriller(Audio clip)

It had been well over twenty years since I last saw a Sam Raimi film in theaters (Spiderman 2, pretty great film too) and I'm glad I did - this sorta-survival adventure/sorta-revenge thriller was a goofy, shamelessly entertaining blast. :) It kind of defies genre description like some of the best Raimi joints going back to Evil Dead II....there are tense moments, funny moments, scary moments, and of course gross moments! Rachel McAdams leads the charge as beleaguered corporate numbers whiz Linda Liddle, an almost cartoonishly nerdy worker bee who was just passed over for a deserved promotion from her new boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien) who is the son of her former boss who just recently passed away. And as played by O'Brien, Bradley is also cartoonishly douchey as he cruelly embarrasses Linda before insisting she join him and other execs on a business trip to Southeast Asia....

All broad strokes up until this point and then while flying in the company private plane, a storm hits them, the plane crashes into the ocean and just GUESS who are the only two survivors which wash up on the shore of a nearby deserted island? 🤔 Bradley is significantly injured but Linda is able to tend to him as she also pulls off several of the necessary acts for survival: hunting for food, creating shelter, capturing drinkable water, etc. You see Linda is a survivalist who's well-read and prepared for such a situation whereas Bradley is NOT....and beyond that, he's STILL acting like he's her boss. And so the tables start to turn.....or DO they? 😆

Everything just stated occurs within the first twenty-five or so minutes and has also been revealed in the trailers - that's just the set-up and I won't dare spoil much beyond that. But yes admittedly, it's a pretty clever set-up for a movie and Raimi along with co-writers Mark Swift/Damian Shannon just RUN with it from that point forward, helped by two genuinely fun scenery-chewing performances from the two main leads. ;) Like I said....BROAD strokes all around as the story just gets nuttier and nuttier. It even takes at least ONE unexpected turn late in the film which I'm not completely sure I buy....but by that point, I was just along for the ride.

As you would expect from the director of Drag Me To Hell and The Evil Dead Trilogy, things get gnarly at points with blood and even some vomit. 🤪 But the tone remains playful and we just can't help but root for Linda. As an actress, McAdams has always had an unabashed silly side to her but outside of a couple of occasional comedies (Game Night, Morning Glory), we rarely get to see it. And she's just cutting loose here as we see her character go through the FULL gamut of emotions, also relishing every new challenge she needs to encounter…..INCLUDING a nasty encounter which I’ll get to in just a bit. 

Though SPEAKING of that particular violent encouter, it also reveals what might be one of the film's biggest flaws: some moments which just feel artificial. The blood at least feels real and most of the film was shot on location around the Dominican Republic - gorgeous locations (shot well by master DP Bill Pope) which shine when Raimi's camera just allows them to be. But yeah, not gonna lie as there are some distractingly fake looking CGI shots too including one inexplicable camera pull-back as we see Linda walking alone on the beach. Honestly this has kind of been a recurring Raimi issue going back to his Spiderman trilogy. He just LOVES to move his camera in absurd directions and sometimes, the technology simply can't keep up...

But that's a minor quibble for a mostly otherwise balls-out good time which never really lets up all the way through its somewhat surprising climax. O'Brien's performance is strong too, even giving his character some potential depth and the relationship between Linda and Bradley also shifts several times throughout. We're rarely allowed to get too comfortable with these two together and that's the point....this is a basically a two-fer survival tale and only ONE can survive in the end. ;) Props to Raimi and crew for making such a fun ride of it!

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now first things first: after decades of collaborating on some strong scores, Danny Elfman returns to conduct the music for this film….and it’s pretty damn good, even featuring some good choral sounds amidst fun atmospheric music.  AND….NO clips have been released of it as yet inexplicably.  But when it pops up online, by all means check it out as I will.  Fortunately there IS also one fun, crafty needle-drop which is also set up nicely in the early portion of the film when we still see Linda in the office…..she has awkwardly cited this as her FAVORITE karaoke song to a co-worker and who can blame her?  The song is from what many consider (myself included) one of the earliest pioneers of New Wave music formed in 1974 in New York City by lead guitarist Chris Stein and lead vocalist Debbie Harry…..BLONDIE.  It’s one of their most popular songs too and I’m fairly confident I have heard it used in other films….but it still works very well here as a satisfying cap-off to take us into the closing credits at the very end.  From their 1978 album “Parallel Lines,” and featuring FANTASTIC sneering vocals from Blondie herself, the song is “One Way or Another.”  (Audio clip)   

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

This film features a cameo from a KEY collaborator of Raimi’s going back decades – even before this, he was actually featured in ten different films including small roles in each film from his Spider-Man trilogy AND starring as Ash in The Evil Dead Trilogy as well.  I’ve always liked him too even co-starring in one my favorite shows from early ‘00’s….I referring of course to The Chin from Roal Oak, MI….the MAN Bruce Campbell! (Audio clip) 

And he’s listed among the cast here as Bradley’s father…..yes Bradley’s aforementioned RECENTLY PASSED father.  So needless to say, he doesn’t have much of a cameo….blink and you’ll miss it.  

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

I had already mentioned this but at around the 45 minute mark I think, we see Linda on the hunt with a spear carved out by her….for a new roving threat in the jungle though one which ALSO might provide some food too.  It’s a wild boar….a GIANT wild boar no less with massive teeth….and what I believe is the film’s BEST sequence, we watch not only track it down but it take it on….MANO A MANO.  Now it’s clear by this point that Raimi and crew are not going for realism – The Revenant this is NOT – but that’s ok because this sequence is still an absolute blast!  McAdams not only goes all out in her performance just SELLING a level of ferocity to even match the wild animal but the amount of blood spilled and spattered is unreal……and the sheer joy on her face immediately afterwards is pretty priceless too. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

This was a tough call as I was VERY close to choosing Ms. McAdams and she’s excellent here, she knows the EXACT film she’s in.  But at the end of the day, this is SO undeniably a film with a tone and spirit which are VERY specific to the mindset of a particular filmmaker.  For directing his most unabashedly entertaining film in years – I would say a NOTCH above Drag Me To Hell if we’re just citing his non-franchise output – Sam Raimi is the MVP.   

Final Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

Honestly among Raimi’s overall filmography, I can’t be sure of where this would rank as I am LONG overdue for a rewatch of The Evil Dead Trilogy…..actually I’m not even 100% sure I have seen all of Army of Darkness as of yet.  But I LOVED a couple of his earliest attempts at bigger studio pictures in the ‘90’s with previous episodes Darkman and The Quick and the Dead….this certainly fits in well among those at the very least, check it out!  

Now Playing In Theaters

And that ends another SECOND COCONUT TREE ON THE LEFT review!