Send Help

Hello everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be discussing the film 'Send Help.' Fun Fact: Sam Raimi adds a "83 Yellow Oldsmobile in his films because it was his childhood car, so eagle-eyed fans will spot it. This film came out in 2026 and stars Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, and Edyll Ismail, and was directed by Sam Raimi. So without further ado lets get right into it.

Send Help follows Linda Little, who, after getting turned down for a promotion by her new boss, Bradley Petterson, gets a chance to prove herself on a work trip. When their plane crashes, the tables turn, and Bradley now needs Linda’s help to survive.

Send Help is a survival horror film. It has similar vibes to Misery, Drag Me to Hell, or Castaway.

Send Help caught my attention because a favorite horror of mine is Drag Me to Hell, which is the last horror film Sam Raimi directed, so I wanted to see what he cooked up now. The film’s leads also had me interested, and this plot twist of having the boss forced to rely on the person whom he screwed over and hope that she doesn’t do the same. I knew I’d be in for a fun and crazy ride, and I was not wrong.

This film is a representation of people who work very, very hard, only to be overlooked by someone who either has a relationship with the boss or some higher up or kisses ass. Linda proved that she was the ideal person for the role, but they passed her up for the boss’s buddy. They also make fun of her and her survivor audition, which is ironic, because later the man who took her position wants her to save him on the plane, and the old boss wants her help on the island to survive, but thinks he's still in charge. It’s a reminder to be kind because you never know if you’ll need their help in the future. I love how they portray this toxic workplace, which starts with the boss and trickles down, because it’s something that happens all the time. Even though people say hard work pays off, a lot of times, it's clear that who you know and kissing ass seem to be more prized.

I love how they drop lines that tell us how long they have been on this island. That was something that really helped understand how Bradley healed and added to them at each other’s necks. It was great, so we know that they had time to examine each other and figure out if they wanted to trust each other or kill each other.

Rachel McAdams was great as Linda Little, who is a weird person but is dedicated to her work and does it well. It’s interesting to see her transition from a woman who is just trying to do her best at work and seems shy to one who thrives in the wilderness, where they must come out of their shell to survive. I loved how, when she was on the beach, she told Bradley that they weren’t in an office and reminded him he would be dead without her. I love how easy the whole situation was for her and how they hinted earlier that she would be ok since she had all these survival books. I wish the trailer had hidden her ability to survive, as it seemed like they were hinting that she may know how to survive at the beginning of the film, but because of the trailer, I knew she was able to survive. Towards the end, we realize the deadly place on the island was the place that had a house and where she got the knife she "found". Bradley tries to poison her, and even though it doesn’t work, she still saves him from dying, which is a really nice gesture. It’s funny in the end, she gets the last laugh after all that she’s been through at the hands of ungrateful men.

Bradley is played by Dylan O'Brien, who did great as this Jerk who didn’t value Linda at all but just wanted to use her for the work and let his friend take the credit. He was rude and gave Linda hope he was gonna possibly change his mind when we knew that wasn’t true, and he was just going to use her and then move her to a different office. On the island, he thinks he is the boss even though he is badly injured, and she reminds him that he needs her. It was funny when he thinks he can do it on his own, because he can’t and struggles so much. Linda tries to teach him to be a better person, but it wasn’t clicking. At one point, I thought maybe he did, but he poisons her. He was an awful person and showed the selfishness of people who think other humans are beneath them, when in reality, people like Linda Little are the reason he had a job and was able to live the life that he lived.

The film is bloody and gross, which isn’t shocking. The scene where she kills the boar is bloody and intense, and it reminded me of Drag Me to Hell, when you think something is dead and it comes alive. There’s a moment where Linda throws up on Bradley’s face, which also reminded me of Drag Me to hell because there’s a gross moment with vomit that is just as gross. It adds to the intensity and funniness of the film, but it is still gross.

I love the plot twist of them not actually being too far removed from civilization. It’s funny once we realize there was a house on the other side of the island, but Linda said it was poison stuff over there, so not to go. I honestly didn’t think much of the people she saw earlier in the movie, so it was surprising that the island was inhabited by other people who just happened to not be home. This further showed how the film flips the power dynamic because now she was in control of their fate and made him struggle for the way he treated her.

There was one jump scare where something pops up behind Linda, and while there were some intense moments, that one caught me off guard. Some of the scares were this kinetic horror, which Sam uses, which has a lot of shaky camera moves like the plane crash, but also some up close camera shots usually on someone’s face, but the scenes are usually fast-paced scares instead of drawn-out, suspenseful ones. I loved the horror in this film and how it was presented in a couple of ways that kept me on my toes.

I mentioned the car that Sam Raimi includes in his films, but there is also usually a cameo by Bruce Campbell as well. When Bradley looks at a picture of his dad, we see that it’s Bruce Campbell. I love that they’ve had this long friendship and how it is important, as seen with Sam, including Bruce in so many of his films.

I think my favorite part of the film was the switching of power dynamics. I think it is important to show that you may be the boss, but that is not forever, and sometimes you may need someone else’s help. It’s interesting to see how Linda didn’t do anything mean, but the men in this office were bullies, and it backfired because they are all dead and she’s alive and thriving by the end.

Send Help is a great horror movie with standout performances from Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. It was an interesting premise that had me curious if they would make it off that island because it seemed like Linda would’ve been fine on her own out there.