Horror Beat: SEND HELP is a bonkers and gnarly survival tale

Linda Liddle works in strategy and planning. She likes Survivor, her pet cockatiel Sweetie, and tuna fish sandwiches. She’s been working hard at her job for nearly a decade, with barely any reward for all of her efforts. When she ends up trapped on a deserted island with her standoffish, former trust-fund-kid C.E.O, Linda’s particular set of skills are what ensure their survival… but can she use these skills to convince her boss to give her a promotion? Or will she have to get violent to get what she wants? The newest film from acclaimed horror filmmaker Sam Raimi, Send Help is a ridiculous, thrilling, funny and gruesome survival thriller that is one of the most fun experiences you can have at a theater.

First announced in 2019, Send Help is written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, the writing team behind 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason and 2009’s Friday the 13th. It marks Raimi’s return to R-Rated horror filmmaking after a seventeen year break, with his last true-blue horror film being 2009’s Drag Me To Hell. After some years in development, it finally came together in 2024 with the casting of Rachel McAdams, who first worked with Raimi on 2022’s Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Filming in Australia, California and Thailand, it finally launched in theatres this January. 

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

The film follows Linda Liddle (McAdams), a hard-working and knowledgeable but meek and demure corporate strategist. Promised a promotion by the now-deceased head of the company, her new boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) aims to fire her, finding her gross and unpleasant. On a plane flight to her last assignment, they crash land on a deserted island, and an injured Bradley will have to rely on Linda in order to survive. Taking a time-old trope and applying an approach that’s equal parts survival thriller and gonzo horror film, Send Help may be less of an out-and-out bloodbath compared to previous Raimi horror films, but it’s still a definitive return to the genre for the director, who utilises every skill he’s learnt over his lengthy career to make as entertaining a film as he can.

It’s a simple plot, and that’s all it needs to be in order to work. It’s effectively a Misery situation, but from the perspective of the Annie Wilkes here, and it works beautifully. Across it’s nearly two hour runtime, the film never gets boring or tedious, consistently shifting tones and adding new challenges for our characters to overcome. It never tries to be too realistic, and leans into the campy elements that make Raimi’s work so iconic, but much of the film never feels totally outside the realm of plausibility either, allowing the viewer to get invested into the world and narrative still. It balances horror, thrills, humour and occasional moments of reprieve and genuine emotion well, making for one hell of a great time at the movies, even if not a particularly profound one.

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Swift and Shannon’s script is, quite frankly, a marked improvement over their previous collaborations. It ebbs and flows seamlessly through tones and genres well, balancing them with an almost effortless ease. The bulk of the movie takes place in a single location with just two characters, but when compared to other recent single-location horror films, it’s far more energetic and compelling at every turn. This is one of the few horror movies I’ve seen recently where who I’m rooting to survive has genuinely changed multiple times over the course of the narrative, and my sympathies have changed radically across the course of the two hour runtime. You get to know these characters, and they’re well realized, often breaking beyond what you may expect. Whilst some moments often border on ridiculous and absurd, there’s a genuine core to the film’s satire and explosive energy that is hard to deny.

Carrying a 40 million dollar budget, pricier than one might expect from a movie like this, it’s very compelling on a technical level. Raimi directs the hell out of this, putting in his all to make it as madcap and ridiculous as possible. Shot by repeat collaborator Bill Pope, there are so many moments in this where I was actively impressed by the cinematography, which never hesitates to get unconventional in the best possible ways. It’s also edited by regular Raimi collaborator Bob Murawski, who is so effortlessly in tune with the style and sensibilities here that it never feels like there’s any superflous fluff to the film. With a score by Danny Elfman, it’s a cavalcade of Raimi’s normal crew working at some of their best, trying their hardest to make sure that every facet of the film works to imbue enjoyment in the film’s audience. There’s even a Bruce Campbell cameo!

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

The film rides or dies based on the quality of Rachel McAdam’s performance, and I’m happy to report that she succeeds with flying colors. It’s a truly top-notch performance, full-bodied in every way. McAdams totally and completely commits at every turn, no matter how gross, or absurd, and it’s remarkable to witness. Her character’s transformation from meek office worker to confident, emboldened survivalist is the core of the film, and she balances every element with ease. There’s large sections of the movie that are almost exclusively involving her, and she never buckles under the pressure, almost thriving even more as her character gets more flawed, difficult and unsympathetic. It’s the latest in an ever growing line of brilliant horror performances from experienced actors, and I’m so glad that Raimi chose her for this role, because it’s some of the best work of her career.

Speaking to Total Film about reuniting with McAdams, Raimi had this to say:

I had a chance to work with her on my last film, and saw how talented she was and actually underutilised. I promised myself that I would work with her again. 

The film’s other star is former Young-Adult heart-throb Dylan O’Brien, who is the film’s biggest surprise. He’s channeling Bruce Campbell, in a way that feels organic and impressive, displaying a far greater range than he ever has prior. It’s hard to describe how hilarious he is, the source of most of the film’s comedy, a consistent supplier of beautifully over the top reactions that had my entire audience cackling with glee. There’s a fair few sequences here where he has to toe the line between deeply hateable and relatively sympathetic, and he rises to the task at every turn. It’s a great performance and an example of what O’Brien is capable of, and I think he should continue to push himself like this in future projects. If Raimi has found a new leading man in him, I wouldn’t mind. 

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Unsurprisingly given its premise, the main theme of this film is a satirical take on the dog-eat-dog nature of post-capitalist businesses and society. In the office space, Bradley Preston is a bully, with borderline unlimited power and control over the direction of the business, a position of power which he got through no effort of his own. He can hire and fire whoever he wants, make any of his employees do what he wants without consequences, and has little to no concern for their individual personal lives. These dynamics are reversed on the island, where he has to rely on Linda to survive, and his consistent efforts to buckle against her whims and aims are almost always met with disaster. Bradley is someone without an understanding of love or empathy, and only sees people as means to an end, in order to achieve a goal. It’s not new or unheard of thematic material, particularly for this current decade, but it’s explored in an interesting and ejoyable way here. 

Linda is a fascinating character. Much like Christine, the protagonist of Raimi’s last major horror film, Drag Me To Hell, her goals and desires are normal and sympathetic, but the all-consuming nature of them often takes her to unsympathetic and often despicable places. It’s easy to write off her character arc as her adopting the persona of ‘the man’ in order to get what she wants, but it’s because of her skillset and knowledge that she succeeds and survives. It’s not that she becomes more like Bradley, it’s more that she is no longer restrained by social pressures and expectations of how she needs to behave, and is able to fully let herself off of the leash she had mostly kept herself on. The narrative isn’t necessarily interested in presenting a solution to the problem of post-capitalistic office culture, and that may disappoint some craving something more profound and meaningful from the film, but it’s an arc well realized and performed by all involved.

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

A note I’d love to add is that this was one of the most gleeful and joyous cinema experiences I’ve had in a long time. A packed showing, the crowd was firmly invested with every tonal shift and turn the film took, laughing and screaming and hollering. It really struck me that the film was originally considered to go straight to streaming before Raimi insisted otherwise, because this is a movie perfectly constructed for the cinema experience, a mid-budget horror / comedy that is akin to the world’s most campy haunted house ride. Horror as a genre is in a state of triumph at the moment, killing it in theaters and on digital platforms, and films like this are a testament to why horror films are at their best in theaters, with a packed crowd. 

Overall, Send Help is a delightful time at the movies. Sometime ago, I mentioned my love of films that I would describe as ‘delicious garbage‘; films that are ridiculous and enjoyable at every turn, and not necessarily profound or meaningful in any way. This film is the most delicious the garbage can get, a group of filmmakers operating at the best level they can, with the pure and singular intention of carving out the most enjoyable experience possible for their audience. It’s exhilarating, hilarious and fun to an almost ludicrous degree, and the type of movie that is at its most successful in a cinema, surrounded by other people being shocked and surprised and bathing in the awe of Rachel McAdams’ bloody antics.