Send Help: Horror, Humor, and Human Tension in Sam Raimi’s New Film
Sam Raimi blends human horror and comic absurdity
I was looking forward to Send Help, as I am quite the fan of Sam Raimi.
So is it worth watching?
Good Points
Rachel McAdams
Sam Raimi and his horror-comedy instincts
The island sequences
It’s blunt, mean, and occasionally funny
Raimi keeps you unsettled without needing a crutch
Bad Points
Visual flourishes sometimes feel a bit habitual rather than inspired
Certain gender dynamics are murky and frustrating
A bit predictable
The tonal inbalance
The camera isn’t kind to her, and I wasn’t either
Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle is immediately uncomfortable here, and that disconnect is the film’s hook, and Raimi sure does lean into it, letting the camera linger on details that would embarrass anyone in real life.
These moments feel less about the character, and more a test - how long before you look away?
Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), is the other half of the equation - confident, entitled, and oblivious, where he redirects promotions, explains the obvious, and asserts authority without effort.
The movie exaggerates his reactions just enough to remind you Raimi is still in control, and he has fun with it - his disgust is physical, loud, and sometimes absurd.
Before anything explodes, the horror is purely human
The office section is short but sharp, and the tension is constant, as Linda has to negotiate her ambition, while Bradley floats above it
Then the film abruptly yanks us out - plane crash, island, reset, and job titles are become irrelevant/
Linda’s competence finally matters here, as she saves Bradley, she navigates the island, and she adapts, as we watch the film soften her visually, where the early discomfort wasn’t just office humiliation, it was failing an unspoken test of how a woman should move through space.
Raimi doesn’t celebrate her fully though, as he undercuts her authority with emotional needs, especially her attraction to Bradley.
McAdams sells the interior life really well, while O’Brien sells Bradley’s entitlement without apology, and Raimi’s visual flourishes and set pieces are occasionally predictable, but it’s probably intentional knowing him.
I don’t actually know him.
Send Help isn’t trying to be graceful
Final Verdict
Send Help leaves you feeling provoked.
It’s abrasive, strange, occasionally mean and uneven, but rarely boring.
The bluntness is done in all the right ways.