A One Mann’s Movies review of “Send Help”. (2026, 4*, 15).
Sam Raimi has delivered us a fair share of memorable films, from 1981’s classic “The Evil Dead”; to 1998’s “A Simple Plan”; through the original Spider-Man trilogy; to his last Marvel outing, and before this, last film – 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness“. With “Send Help” he delivers a truly entertaining roller-coaster of a film that veers occasionally into the schlock horror of “Evil Dead” territory. Those elements saw The Illustrious Mrs Movie Man actually sat on my lap at one point!
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a dowdy office worker who lives alone with her pet bird and whose favourite TV programme is “Survivor”. Just like Halle Berry’s Sharon in the currently released “Crime 101“, she should be – for reasons of competence and time in post – the next in line for an executive position. But her misogynist new boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) passes her over in favour of his incompetent buddy Donovan (Xavier Samuel). But the tables are turned when events lead to Linda and Bradley being stranded together on a desert island.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC website: “Strong bloody violence, gore, threat, language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Xavier Samuel, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang.
Directed by: Sam Raimi.
Written by: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift.
Running Time: 1h 53m.
Summary:
Positives:
- A wildly entertaining ride of a story.
- A clever transition for Rachel McAdams as a strong female character.
- Some effective horror scenes.
- A pleasantly quirky score.
Negatives:
- The story stretches credibility to breaking point.
- Some of the jump scenes feel cheap and superfluous.
Full Review of “Send Help”:
From Dowdy Cygnet To Tropical Bird of Paradise.
Rachel McAdams makes for a wonderful love interest in films. She is stunningly attractive, but unlike the intimidating likes of Margot Robbie and Cameron Diaz, she seems much more ‘approachable’ in a ‘girl next door’ kind of way. And she is also a really terrific comedy actress.
Here she gets a wonderful chance to show her skills (and that of the costume and make-up departments) by delivering Linda Liddle as a dowdy ‘cat lady’ of an office worker, brilliant at her job but under the control of sleazy male managers who make lascivious suggestions to the gorgeous young girls they choose to recruit (case in point with Olivia Sawyer, in her film debut, having Preston (Dylan O’Brien) asking if she would be willing to ‘go the extra mile’ in the role).
But then when she gets into her ‘natural habitat’ of the desert island, she transforms – physically – into the glowing version of Rachel McAdams that we know and love. It’s very clever.
Overall, just like Halle Berry in “Crime 101“, this is another excellent film demonstrating female empowerment and the turning the tables on the patriarchy… but in a very extreme way.
A compelling story.
The story bounces along at a pleasant crack for a sub-2-hour film, with the set up being engaging; the plane crash being gruesomely comical; and the island scenes being like some whacked out version of “Lost” (as if “Lost” wasn’t whacked out enough!) We end up with a bit of a “War of the Roses“, but on a desert island, which at least is not a story that we’ve had presented to us before (at least, as far as I can remember).
Also, having Linda as a survivalist nut, deploying her ‘particular set of skills’ effectively, is great to see. And the film has a twist in the final reel which I really didn’t see coming and which is very entertaining.
The concept as it unfolds however is completely ridiculous! And I suspect the people who don’t buy into this film will be those who fail to suspend their disbelief at some of these more extreme elements of the story. This is no “Castaway” in terms of realism.
Raimi jumps.
There are some scenes in the film that are really squirm-inducingly horrific, especially one scene for men that still makes me wince to think about. This scene is reminiscent of the wonderful “Paulo lies” scene in the wonderfully unusual “Exposé” episode of “Lost”! (If you know, you know!)
What I wasn’t quite expecting in this film is the deployment of some of Sam Raimi’s arsenal of “Evil Dead”-style jump scares. These are slipped into the mix, for example via some nightmare scenes, and might put some viewers off the film.
In this regard, I was a bit concerned about the Illustrious Mrs Movie Man’s reaction to the film as it went on (as she doesn’t ‘do’ horror films), but she coped with most of it pretty well and really liked the film overall. However, a gory scene with Linda hunting a wild boar tipped her over the edge: she first hid her face; then she squirmed up into her seat; and then she squirmed herself up fully onto my lap!! LOL.
Summary Thoughts:
A really effective and clever comedy/thriller/horror film that genuinely entertained. Rachel McAdams is on terrific form.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4wiXj9NmEE.
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