Send Help (2026) Film Review: Sam Raimi's return to darkly twisted comedy horror combo is absolutely bonkers

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When a meek employee and her insufferable boss become the only survivors of a plane crash and are stranded on a desert island, the polar opposite pair are forced to work together to stay alive amongst rising tensions.

Send Help (2026) is a comedy/horror directed by the legendary Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, 2002; The Evil Dead, 1981), with a screenplay co-written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, both of whom have previously worked on the Friday the 13th franchise.

The film stars Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, 2004; Mean Girls, 2004) as Linda Liddle, a hard working, yet socially outcast office worker with a passion for surviving in the wild, and Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner, 2014; Teen Wolf, 2011-2017) as Bradley Preston, a typical yuppie corporate type who enjoys a more luxurious lifestyle and is very much used to getting his own way.

Rachel McAdams stars as Linda Liddle, a seemingly timid office worker who proves herself to be a confident strategist and survivalist

The movie marks a welcome return to form for Raimi, who is most well known for his involvement in the horror and black comedy genre, with his larger-than-life, colourful style becoming well recognised by cinemagoers over the years.

His endearing chaotic energy and deep passion for the filmmaking craft are ever-present in his latest venture. The film does not at all take itself seriously and thrives on its deadpan, dry delivery of humour, as well as relishing in plenty of gross-out, gory imagery to really get a kick out of its audience.

Raimi is bold and confident in his direction, delivering a less conventional narrative which has much to offer in the entertainment department due to its peculiar tone and crazy, deranged energy.

Raimi injects a cheeky undertone to the film as two characters with completely different personalities and outlooks are forced to live in proximity to each other and are constantly fighting for dominance over the other.

Linda is very much in her element once they wash up on the shore of the deserted island and quickly puts her survival skills to use, whilst Bradley is left pretty helpless and desperate by the situation, leading to a great character conflict hook to carry viewers through the film.

Despite a fairly simple premise, the movie excels in its steady buildup of tension as the power play becomes a main focus of the narrative. There are a few standout, memorable scenes which are expertly written and performed by both actors as each battles for dominance.

One scene in particular, involving a knife and a paralysed Bradley, was certainly skin-crawling and did a great job at further exploring the characters' states of mind. The majority of the film's script remains sharp and refined, with some genuinely rib-tickling dialogue littered throughout.

Amongst the high thrills and excellent staging between its two leads is Raimi's top-notch directing and clear love of the cinematic artform. As can be expected from Raimi, everything is taken to the extreme, with special attention given to the terrific sound design and dynamic camerawork.

The film is high on delivering a full sensory experience for viewers, with extreme close-ups and focusing in on everyday sounds like something as simple as inhaling or chuckling, given exaggerated treatment. Every element of this world and its characters feels real and tangible. Many of the movie's visuals are often quite gross and disturbing, leaning into garish, comical moments of humour.

One of the greatest strengths of Send Help is its quirky screenplay and successful integration of bizarre hilarity into a disastrous situation

For those who are squeamish when it comes to all manners of bodily fluids, such as projectile vomiting onto another person's face or ribbons of blood shooting from wounds, this will definitely not be the film for you!

Raimi has always had a knack for incorporating playful dark humour with goofy, often gnarly visuals, and the movie certainly succeeds with this aspect. Both McAdams and O'Brien are fantastic in their respective roles and knew exactly what kind of project they signed up for, maintaining a similar off-kilter, absurdist energy throughout the entire film.

Both are not afraid to fully commit to the ugly side of Raimi's vision, completely surrendering themselves to this ludicrous story and, despite being two conventionally very attractive people, losing some of their good looks as tensions begin to drastically escalate and violence breaks out between them.

Their snide banter and constant battering of heads provide plenty of fun moments to bring a smile to anyone's face. McAdams, in particular, is an absolute delight here and is probably one of her best roles to date. Her sweet, gleeful, and giddy mannerisms are very charming and stand in stark contrast to her cooler, more calculated side as she firmly puts Bradley in his place.

Although a mostly enjoyable romp of power plays and graphic violence, the film does unfortunately lean into the use of CGI and greenscreen a tad too much, which is particularly distracting when the duo explore the island or when Linda fights and kills a wild boar.

One could argue that the less realistic qualities of the special effects further add to the movie's intended silly, over-indulgent tone; however, this noticeable visual flaw does detract from Raimi's otherwise creative direction.

Another glaring issue, which does ultimately cause a general level of discomfort and confusion surrounding the film, is its unattractive tendency to lean into the largely tired and overdone 'girl boss' trope.

Of course, it is very satisfying to see a misogynistic, arrogant character like Bradley be belittled by his severely overlooked and mostly mocked 'inferior'; however, the film does become quite tiresome and patience-testing with its constant 'winking to the camera' moments and occasional fourth wall breaking, which occur mostly during the final act.

Similar to the questionable food supplements Bradley is given to eat by Linda, this consistent female empowerment messaging leaves a lingering sour taste in the mouth.

Dylan O'Brien provides stellar physical comedic timing and rhythm as his character's endurance is really put to the test by a smug employee

McAdams is great in the role and has a very watchable screen presence with her natural likability and relatable mannerisms, however, the modern storytelling trend to regularly put down men and often humiliate them in favour of a vastly more capable, powerful woman has definitely become a tired cliché at this point and it is a shame that the film heavily leans into this aspect a little too often.

Overall, although Send Help does have a tendency to do more harm than good with its confused messaging regarding gender politics, if one does not focus too closely on the details, the film is an absolute riot from beginning to end.

Full of quippy dialogue and plenty of laughs for those who share Raimi's darkly twisted sense of humour, and led by wonderful performances, this is an all-around fun and exciting time to be had at the cinema.

Check out the trailer for Send Help (2026) below, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!