I think there’s a bit of a universal shared fantasy about getting stranded on a desert island with someone you’re attracted to. Sure, it seems dire at first, but after you manage to make shelter, find food and create a nice little life on the isle, you slowly start to fall in love and black out the fact neither of you have showered in weeks. But there’s a bit of a subgenre to that fantasy that involves you and your boss, where you just skip all that other shit and immediately go to beating their head in with a rock. 

Director Sam Raimi has created a mix of those two fantasies with Send Help, the director’s first original project since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell. I’ve been a big fan of Raimi’s for years, but due to timing in and a shocking lack of showtimes in my area, I missed this film when it first hit theaters. But now the film has hit digital platforms and I only wish I would have gotten the chance to catch this in theaters. But I decided to make up for lost time, and if you’re in a similar boat, I definitely think you should too.

Send Help is a pretty entertaining blend of both Raimi’s more grounded films and his inclination for going absolutely insane. While it’s not as horror leaning as I expected, it’s still nevertheless entertaining thanks to Raimi’s trademark sense of humor and two highly enjoyable performances from Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brian. Admittedly, it’s that meeting in the middle that kind of holds this back a bit for me. While thoroughly engaging, it certainly isn’t as much of a madhouse as something like the Evil Dead films or the aforementioned Drag Me to Hell. The insanity is much more spread out, and while the rest of the film is anchored by those two great performances, there aren’t too many interesting dynamics at play here you couldn’t find in other films like Triangle of Sadness. Even still, I’m very happy to have Raimi back, because there’s very few directors that truly understand camp and genre movies like he does.

Linda Liddle is an awkward corporate strategist who is destined for a big promotion at her work. That is until her boss dies, leaving his immature and fratty Bradley son in charge, who doesn’t feel too inclined to deliver on Linda’s promotion. But power dynamics get thrown out the window when a plane crash leaves the two stranded on a deserted island. Thankfully, Linda is well versed in survival skills and manages to care for herself and Bradley, but as tensions begin to rise and loyalty starts to be tested, it becomes very clear that one of them may not be leaving the island alive. 

Rachel McAdams is absolutely perfect for this role; managing to be goofy, endearingly depressing yet ever so slightly unhinged. It’s actually pretty impressive that in her darker moments, you still find yourself rooting for her and might even think she isn’t going far enough. She ends up holding all the power alongside the incapable and spoiled Bradley, and yet she doesn’t always let the mountain of abuse and embarrassment she experienced shift her into the realm of cruelty. You may be disappointed to find this is not a mad with power story, but it honestly makes her character super interesting while defying some of the narrative beats you’d expect in this story.

And I gotta say, I was very entertained by Dylan O’Brian’s Bradley as well. I haven’t been too dialed into his career in a post-Maze Runner world, but I thought he absolutely nailed it. O’Brian is very good at being cruel, but in a way that almost makes you think there’s still some humanity inside of him. He tests that belief again and again, but the film occasionally has its moments where you think he’s really learned his lesson. But he easily suffers the most in this film, and he does a great job in selling that agony in a way that’s believable and comedic. From stumbling around on one leg to squealing like a little bitch, O’Brian did everything he needed to do to make this character both detestable and entertaining.

It was also very nice to see this thing take place on a real beach. I was a bit skeptical at first, because there were times it did look like volume slop straight out of the live action Moana trailer, but this was actually filmed on a Thai coconut farm. Which makes me hate this modern age of digital cinematography, because this shouldn’t look like it was shot on a sound stage, but sometimes it does. So the believability in the setting is mostly there, but I also loved the set design this film incorporated. Linda is a Survivor superfan, so she knows how to construct practically anything with just a few leaves and bamboo chutes. From huts to hammocks to sunhats, this was a really cool and fun touch to a pretty predictable genre. Sure, it’s not exactly super realistic to see Linda with a fully weaved backpack that looks like something Anthropologie would sell for $300, but it’s just part of the silly charm Raimi is known for.

And the bits of Raimi-isms that get injected into this are such a delight. From the intense closeups to the predatory POV camera to Raimi’s obsession with puke getting in other people’s mouths, this feels wholly authentic to the director. It’s these directorial touches that got the most laughs out of me, as the script was kinda just okay. The comedy isn’t always the strongest and some interactions and bits are drawn out just a bit too long, but the style makes these pretty forgivable. I do think the script could have used a bit of retooling at times. This is far more of a dark comedy than you might have expected, and I would have liked the more horror-adjacent moments to be more frequent and pack a bit more punch. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the wild boar scene, but it doesn’t really set a precedent for the rest of the film. So temper your expectations there, as this doesn’t get as balls to the wall as you may have expected from Raimi. And then there’s that ending. I won’t spoil it, but there’s an element to it that’s supposed to be a big reveal that just wasn’t needed in my opinion. The film ends pretty much the way you would expect, which is a shame because I was hoping for something that would elevate the material a bit more and give me something new.

Send Help certainly isn’t going to change the game with its relatively flat narrative, but I can’t deny that I had a good time. It’s great to have a film Raimi could dig his teeth into, even if it’s maybe not one of his most on-brand outings. Still, this is a lot of fun, super gross, and just campy enough of a time to win me over. And yet…there was no Bruce Campbell, aside from a picture. So actually , this movie sucks. Disregard everything I said and throw it in the trash.

RATING

S.O.S.

We’re gonna get tropical and bloody with this rum based riff of a tequila sunrise. There seems to be plenty of mangos lying around on their island, as well as coconuts, so that’s going to be the two focal points of the drink’s flavor. And then, to give it a nice layer of blood, we’re going to employ some creme de cassis, a black currant liqueur that will give the last sips of this drink a nice and desserty finish. And the name S.O.S. could mean a number of things connected to the movie. Silly On Spirits. Skewer Odd Swine. Sever Our Scrotum. I’ll let you choose your favorite.

INGREDIENTS

• 2oz coconut rum
• 2oz mango juice
• 2oz coconut water
• 3/4oz lime juice
• 1 barspoon saline solution (1 part salt + 4 parts water)
• 1oz creme de cassis
• Garnish: mango slice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all ingredients (except the creme de cassis) to a shaker and shake with ice.
2. Strain into tall glass filled with ice.
3. Slowly pour in creme de cassis to create a layering effect.
4. Garnish with mango slice and cocktail umbrella.