Sam Raimi’s name remains popular among superhero movie fans, thanks to his work in Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Send Help brings the filmmaker back to the genre in which he pioneered: gross-out horror with a razor-sharp comedic undertone. And come back he does, uncaging a film unlike anything you have ever seen and what’s set to become another cult classic.
Linda Liddle’s (Rachel McAdams) story is one that far many women know all too well. Her work is a boys’ club in which she does all the heavy lifting, never receives the recognition, and gets passed on for promotions. Linda believes her fortunes are about to change with the arrival of Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), who takes over from his father as CEO. Well, it doesn’t. Bradley is a bad boss in every sense of the word; an arrogant master of corporate politics who says a lot without saying anything at all. His ultimate plan is to get rid of Linda, because he thinks she’s weird, but he needs her assistance on one big international merger before booting her.
Disaster strikes, though, as their plane catches fire and crashes. The only two survivors from the accident are Linda and Bradley. Linda finds herself in her element, as survivalism is her hobby and she adores Survivor. Bradley, though, doesn’t know what to do in this situation. He needs to rely on Linda, but he also doesn’t want to let go of the power dynamic from the office.
Mark Swift and Damian Shannon’s script provides many surprises. The first part of Send Help plays out like a typical romcom: Two conflicting personalities need to learn how to get along and appreciate each other. Eventually, they build a level of mutual respect that teases it might be transforming into something more.
However, that’s not how the story goes at all. Through Raimi’s blood-splattered lens, this film addresses misogyny and sexism, shining a light on how there are too many troglodytes still living in 1826 rather than 2026. It’s also about how society expects women to forgive and endure over and over again… until they don’t. In the case of Linda, she’s an example of what happens when a person is pushed too far.
The second half of Send Help is where Raimi comes to life. Like a mad scientist, he throws buckets of blood, violence, and bodily fluids into this multi-genre experiment that is guaranteed to have the audience shuddering, gagging, or peeking through their hands. To say it gets wild is an understatement. There’s a scene in here that wouldn’t feel out of place in The Evil Dead, so hemophobes, be warned.
As Linda, McAdams rules Send Help. To watch the character’s transformation from the first to final scene is an A+ cinema experience. She captures every nuance of this poor woman who has been taken advantage of for far too long. Despite this, Linda doesn’t let the world break her. Yeah, some of her actions might be eyebrow-raising in moments, but hey, let it be a warning to misogynists everywhere to shape up or get cut. You’ll understand the reference when you watch the movie.
O’Brien plays his role as Bradley all too well, making you despise his character – especially if you have worked with a narcissist boss like this. He’s smug and believes in his own hype and the established hierarchy (and patriarchy) that favors him. Even in the little grins and arrogant mannerisms, you can’t help but want to smack his face off, because he’s such an unlikable human being. It’s the second time in a year that O’Brien has played a similar type of character, as he proved stellar in Anniversary as well, so it’s safe to say that he’s convinced the world he’s more than Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf) now.
Send Help doesn’t follow the path you think it does. It’s a mutant mishmash of genres that wouldn’t work in the hands of any other director, but Raimi gets it. It’s still early days in 2026, but this is already a contender for film of the year. You’ll laugh. You’ll scream. You’ll feel queasy. So, grab a helmet, because this might just blow your mind.
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The Review
Send Help
Send Help is Sam Raimi at his masterful best.
Review Breakdown
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Verdict
