We are ending January 2026 with a bang with the new movie from Sam Raimi called Send Help. A woman and her overbearing boss become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. They must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.
Sam Raimi, the infamous director who created the Evil Dead franchise, hasn’t made a horror film in a while. Recently, he directed the sequel to Dr. Strange: a movie that had many Raimisms, if you will, but wasn’t the zany horror many fans have come to know. It was a Marvel movie at the end of the day. His last horror film was 2009’s Drag Me to Hell. So how does Send Help compare?
I was already intrigued by the trailers for this film for two reasons. One, as a Sam Raimi fan, I was excited for his return to the horror genre. The second reason is the premise alone. There are so many people in the world who have had an overbearing boss. So many people who, if given the chance, would love to turn the tables on someone who has treated them in a negative way. This movie should do well at the box office, hopefully by premise alone, but it needs other aspects to be on point as well.
What Really Works?
The movie mostly takes place on an island, so it needs to have two strong leads, and this movie definitely has that. Rachel McAdams is so good in a role I’ve never seen her play. She is awkward and lonely and very cringe in the beginning, and as the movie goes on, we get to see her unravel into a wild survivalist.
Dylan O’Brien is so damn good as the snarky, unbearable boss. He is also playing a role that is different from the one he usually plays, and he has come such a long way since The Maze Runner. He is so despicable in the beginning, and over time, we begin to wonder if he can change.
Without our two leads, the movie would fall apart as they really leave us on the edge of our seats with every decision to make. The well-written script and tense atmosphere are great because we have to watch two people who cannot stand each other need to work together in order to survive.
What also really works in this movie is the gore and Sam Raimi’s style. This is not your average thriller. This is a Sam Raimi movie through and through. For those people who have never seen a Sam Raimi film, they might be thrown off. His films usually consist of weird camera angles, cartoonish gore, and comedic over-the-top moments. This movie definitely has all of these things.
For as much as I was on the edge of my seat, I was also laughing throughout just as much. There are also a couple of cool twists here that reminded me of a Shyamalan film, but the writing is way better here and adds to the twists instead of taking away from them. There was a decision made towards the end of the movie that I really didn’t like, and that is the only thing that brings this movie down a little for me, but other than that, it is solid.
Overall
Send Help is a superb thriller/dark comedy film that entertains throughout with the help of two stellar performances from the leads. It is probably Sam Raimi’s most mainstream horror film to date. It has a lot of over-the-top moments, but not enough to be a full-blown comedy or even a full-blown horror film.
The movie has plenty of tension, vomit, gore, and edge-of-your-seat moments to keep the audience happy. As a horror fan, I believe Drag Me to Hell is the better horror film, especially if you are a big fan of Sam Raimi; still, Send Help will please many general audiences and was a great way to end January.
