‘Send Help’: Rachel McAdams Gloriously Pushes Herself to the Edge in Sam Raimi’s Brutally Fun Survivalist Comedy

Alci Rengifo

Two people are washed ashore on a deserted island after their plane crashes in “Send Help.” Yes, we have seen this plot many times before, but in the hands of Sam Raimi, this familiar material becomes delightfully unhinged. Always a keen genre director, Raimi uses ingredients we all know to cook up something unique. Horror, comedy and satire mix together in what amounts to a bloody lesson in class warfare. For the director, it’s a refreshing return to some of his cinematic roots after spending some time delivering major franchise entries for Marvel. “Send Help” could be a great midnight watch, with a tub of popcorn ready to howl at the in-jokes and gore.

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is one of those people who are just too nice and true for their chosen profession. She works at a consulting firm where her talent with numbers is unmatched, but the sharply-dressed, self-conscious crowd look at her like some loser from an alien planet. It gets worse when the new CEO, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), turns out to be a cruel narcissist. He is instantly repulsed by Linda’s shabby wardrobe, or how she doesn’t notice a food stain on her chin when she introduces herself. Linda’s confidence is finally shattered when Bradley passes her over for a promotion she had been promised by his now deceased father. Pretending to be nice, he still invites her to come along on a business flight to Bangkok. Unsurprisingly, he and his fellow corporate bros just mock her even more on the plane when they find a video of Linda pitching herself to be on “Survivors.” Then, a storm hits the aircraft, killing most of the jerks. Only Linda and Bradley survive, tossed onto an island. She has the needed skills to make shelter, cook food and collect fresh water, while the injured CEO finds himself suddenly helpless.

Raimi proceeds to play with the rules of this kind of movie, at times cheerfully making fun of them with the love of a filmmaker who clearly likes the script and characters. There is a sense of the freedom that has always marked his best work, from “The Evil Dead” to “Drag Me to Hell.” His last film, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” was a Marvel behemoth that still featured Raimi’s trademark campiness. The stamp is instant here with the colorful cinematography by Bill Pope and the hilariously choral music by Danny Elfman. The screenplay by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift pulls no punches in creating characters for a thriller who have clear cut identities. Linda is brilliant but at heart an outdoors person, so she doesn’t fit in with these stuck up office types who get neurotic about their shoes. They are so uncool they don’t even know who Blondie is when Linda tries to get invited to their karaoke nights. 

The real fun begins on the island, where the plot makes use of clichés we’ve seen in films like “Cast Away” and “Six Days, Seven Nights.” Rachel McAdams delivers some of her best recent work as an expert in all those endless facts a good movie survivalist should know, from what plants and fruits to use for food to how to make a pristine hut. She can hunt fish, octopus and has a wildly bloody encounter with a boar that also turns into dinner. Yet, just beneath the surface, McAdams evokes the boiling rage. Bradley, even when facing death and having been rescued by the employee, refuses to be humbled. He’s so wired into his selfish sense of entitlement that what ensues on the island is a battle of wills. Linda makes it clear she is technically the one in charge now, while he can feign apologies and wanting to learn how to survive out here. 

Raimi brilliantly twists around all the expected climaxes in a film like this. Bradley is desperate to get rescued, but when Linda sees a search boat near the island, she ignores it. This is her chance to try and make this monster realize what he is. We would also expect the two to possibly fall in love. Is there sexual tension? Linda does blush when she sees Bradley washing himself naked by the sea, but here Raimi also toys with us. Any soft emotions get trumped by the corporate boss’ desire to eventually watch out only for himself, the girl who disgusted him in the office be damned. Slowly but surely, Linda’s more violent impulses will begin to emerge. She can only take so much of this guy, especially when he starts scheming his own dirty tricks. 

Sam Raimi fans might wonder if he dabbles in some of his trademark horror in “Send Help.” By the third act he does indulge in some gorier antics involving bodies seeming to walk out of the ocean towards Linda, and a brutal showdown near the end with some good twists and mayhem. He also doesn’t let the camera shy away when a food poisoned Linda tries to save Bradley from drowning, while vomiting all over his face. We’re still in winter, yet “Send Help” would have also made for a great summer entertainment. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are having a ball onscreen inhabiting these characters who lack subtlety in just the right ways. They are castaways for our times, representing two poles that might never make peace, the undervalued worker ant and the cruel CEO. Watching them duke it out in the sand is a twisted good time.

“Send Help” releases Jan. 30 in theaters nationwide.