‘Send Help’ Review

By Nadia Dalimonte 

Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien in Send Help

When Sam Raimi signs on to make a film, he promises a devilishly fun time. From the universes of The Evil Dead and Spider-Man, to the gnarly hilarity of Drag Me to Hell, Raimi brings a pulpy inventiveness to the screen. Nobody does a comic thriller quite like him, and the proof is in the pudding with his blood-soaked return, Send Help. On paper, the idea of being stuck on a deserted island with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien sounds heavenly. Leave it to Raimi to twist this dream into a gory knot of psychological nightmares. Silly and unnerving in equal measure, Send Help is a wickedly enjoyable ride, with Raimi in full sicko mode at the wheel.

In the film’s opening scenes, a quirky and under-appreciated Linda Liddle (McAdams) navigates the toxic corporate environment at Preston Strategic Solutions. The company’s work culture involves men criticizing her appearance, taking full credit for her work, and undermining her capabilities. To make matters worse, Bradley Preston (O’Brien) has just been appointed the new CEO. Despite Linda’s seven years of employment and the goodwill of Bradley’s father, who promised she would be taken care of, she loses out on a big promotion. As a consolation, Bradley invites her on a business trip to Bangkok. The toxic work culture continues on board the flight, where Bradley and his like-minded male colleagues discover Linda’s audition tape for Survivor and ridicule her. As Linda’s resentment escalates, the plane malfunctions and crashes.

Linda and Bradley, the only survivors of the plane crash, become stranded on a deserted island. Without any corporate hierarchies to lean on, the power dynamics shift and real-world survival instincts (not to mention all of Linda’s Survivor training) kick in. The two colleagues must overcome their office grievances to stay alive, but the change of scenery unleashes an epic battle of wits and a never-ending string of competing interests. The characters’s emotional bandwidths are all over the map, and the story plays ball on both sides, leaving the viewer unsure of who to trust at any given moment. Raimi, along with screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, flesh out a bare bones concept through increasingly unhinged scenarios. The island becomes a backdrop for insane plot developments, vivid obstacle courses, and a sadistic sense of humour.

Limited as the characterizations may be, Raimi stretches the imagination through his signature visual language and tone. The film plays out in a gleefully sophisticated manner, despite the story going bonkers and the characters flailing off the rails. Raimi crafts a carefully plotted adventure with exaggerated imagery and creative close-ups. His aesthetic heightens all the senses and helps immerse the viewer onto an unpredictable train of thought. Whether a delirious laughing fit, a quietly unnerving dramatic scene, or a violent splattering of blood, each element feels incredibly thoughtful in delivering on the promise of a fun time. Raimi is clearly having a blast behind the camera, and his infectious energy spills into every frame.

Everyone has an absolute ball on this island, most evidently the actors. Kathy Bates in Misery walked so that Rachel McAdams in Send Help could run. McAdams’s brilliant portrayal of Linda encompasses all the range we know she has, and then some. Linda’s character demands an awkward quirkiness, moral ambiguity, and psychological unraveling that McAdams excels at. She brings a wacky personality to life without ever undermining the darker, unnerving subject matter underneath. In one of her most impactful moments, her character shares an integral piece of her relationship history that pushes the viewer to re-examine what she is capable of. The scene speaks to McAdams’s consummate talent and knack for incredible emotional range. She flips from funny to menacing and back, complete with killer one-liners that bring back memories of her stellar performance in Game Night. Plus, Linda Liddle taps into the universal frustrations of working for a horrible boss, making it even more fun to identify the drive behind her actions.

McAdams also shares excellent chemistry with Dylan O’Brien, who has been on a hot streak as of late with standout performances in Saturday Night and especially Twinless. In Send Help, the writing of Bradley Preston falls into stereotypical trappings of the arrogant boss. However, O’Brien brings out compelling layers to a character that could have been painfully one-note. The characterization pales in comparison to Linda, but O’Brien delivers on all the emotional shifts and gets to explore some physical comedy along the way. He has that insufferable boss laugh down and makes it easy to root against Bradley, while occasionally tapping into a more vulnerable side of the character that brings him closer down to earth. O’Brien is also responsible for some of the film’s biggest laughs in how he reacts to Linda’s increasingly bonkers behavior. He and McAdams shine as a dream pairing who gleefully push each other’s buttons.

Outside of this dynamic duo and Raimi’s pulpy direction, there’s not an awful lot to run home about story-wise. Additionally, Linda and Bradley’s characterizations suffer in a clumsy final act when the momentum begins to wane. Raimi brings it back home with a bold swing, literally, and interjects a delightfully twisted turn of events to end on. Combined with brilliant performances, Send Help pushes the envelope to craft a truly fun time at the movies.

Send Help arrives in theatres on January 30, and it’s worth the price of a sick day.