Sam Raimi returns to his horror roots with Send Help, a darkly comic thriller starring Rachel McAdams as a skilled employee and Dylan O’Brien as her arrogant boss, who must survive together on a desert island after a plane crash. The film flips power dynamics in a twisted tale of role reversal and gross-out humor. Reviews praise its unpredictable energy despite similarities to other recent satires.
In Send Help, directed by Sam Raimi, corporate number cruncher Linda Liddle, played by Rachel McAdams, is overlooked for a promotion by her smug boss Bradley Preston, portrayed by Dylan O’Brien. Semi-aware of her expertise, Bradley invites her on a business trip to Thailand, but their private jet crashes in a violent storm, killing everyone else in gruesome fashion. The two wash up on an uninhabited island, where Linda’s survival skills—honed from her fandom of the TV show Survivor—give her the upper hand over the injured and entitled Bradley.
Raimi, known for Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell, infuses the film with gonzo energy and over-the-top gore, including festering wounds, eye gouges, and a computer-generated wild boar attack. The screenplay by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift emphasizes unpredictable motivations, escalating from feigned civility to a far-fetched war between the co-workers. McAdams delivers a dramatic transformation from dowdy employee to empowered survivor, while O’Brien plays Bradley as tactless and privilege-blinded, telling Linda he sees “no value” in her.
Shot on Thailand’s beaches, the production bonded the cast and director. O’Brien, who pushed for a meaner portrayal of Bradley, recalls Raimi greeting him with a paper bag on his head and jokes about eating a real beetle for a scene. “He said to me, ‘It seems like people are so worried about looking good or coming off as likable nowadays. I think that’s so limiting,’” McAdams shares of O’Brien’s approach. Raimi notes the likability conflict but credits O’Brien for making it work: “He was so right!”
The 113-minute R-rated film, with music by Danny Elfman, draws comparisons to Triangle of Sadness for its class satire but appeals to B-movie fans with its gross-out humor and rejection of romance tropes. Produced by 20th Century Studios, Send Help marks Raimi’s first original film in 17 years and hits theaters on January 31, 2026, following a screening in Burbank, California, on January 14.
