Send Help

Send Help is a pretty...alright watch. It does not follow a cookie cutter narrative, for better or worse, but it certainly falls into one very specific, highly exhausting trap.

Let us start with the premise. Linda (Rachel McAdams) is a massive pushover. She does all the heavy lifting at her company but gets absolutely none of the credit. She is heavily channeling Michelle Pfeiffer's pathetic energy from Batman Returns. When her boss and mentor suddenly dies, he leaves the business to his obnoxious frat boy son, Brad. Linda is immediately pushed to the back and denied her rightful promotion. Given one last chance to prove herself, she tags along with the boys club on their private corporate jet. The jet hits turbulence and crashes on a remote island.

Linda is an avid Survivor fan and a massive bookworm, she instantly thrives. Meanwhile, the new nepo baby CEO completely falls apart. Tensions and trusts are pulled to their absolute limits as an exploration of human tenacity commences.

When my wife put this movie on, I had no idea about the concept or the cast outside of McAdams. I watched the first half completely unsure of where it was going, and I found myself getting genuinely annoyed at how much the director was seemingly ripping off the 2013 Evil Dead remake. It was not until the third act heats up and the blood really starts flowing that I had to check IMDb to see if this was ACTUALLY a Fede Alvarez joint. Much to my surprise, it is not. It's a Sam Raimi movie. The OG ED creator himself.

Once I put on my Sam Raimi colored glasses, I had to reevaluate. The things I assumed were cheap rip offs were actually just Raimi being Raimi. There is even a Bruce Campbell cameo as the deceased CEO early on. We also get the mandatory appearance of Raimi's classic 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88.

With that knowledge in hand, the hyper kinetic POV jungle shots, the over the top gore, and the campy tone all started to make sense. So, did that completely change my opinion of the movie? Nnnnnno. Not really.

It is a decent movie, but it is certainly not great. The CGI is that glossy, plastic trash Raimi has unfortunately become so accustomed to using in his modern blockbuster era. There is a specific scene involving a thumb to the eyeball that should have been a visceral practical effect. Instead, it's poorly rendered and tension deflating.

The story also heavily lost me regarding the character writing. Neither protagonist is really all that likable. We have nobody to root for. It is very similar to Raimi's Drag Me to Hell, where he loves punishing ambitious women who make morally gray choices. The island acts as a brutally literal metaphor for the corporate ladder. In the boardroom, Brad is the king because of pure nepotism. In the jungle, the currency is actual competence, meaning Linda becomes the CEO.

The plot is muddy. Gender equality is clearly the main thematic thread, but Linda actively lets innocent people die just because she is not ready to be rescued yet. She is having too much fun being in charge of the island. The movie frames this as some sort of dark empowerment, but it just makes her a literal sociopathic killer. There is no redemption arc to be found. Oh, and the ending features an incredibly overdone twist. I will not spoil it here, but you will call it from a mile away.

The acting is cranked up to eleven, but that is just the standard Raimi style. In the beginning, it is deeply cringy. I am assuming that was an intentional choice. Linda is annoying and mousey without a shred of self awareness. Brad is a total Chad, and his laugh is grating schlock. It works because you are supposed to hate him.

Cinematographically, it is a beautiful film. The island feels alive, the storms feel dangerous, and the framing is excellent. The location is gorgeous, and I am almost entirely certain they shot one scene in the exact same location as the recent creature feature Primate.

The score did not really register for me until it suddenly smacked me in the face 3/4 through the film. It is very Evil Dead at times. Blazing organs mix with shrieking strings that make some of the most uncomfortable sounds possible. To be completely honest, if the final twist was just that someone buried the Necronomicon under a palm tree and it was actively poisoning souls, the entire movie would have been perfect. But alas...

Overall, I enjoyed it, but I would not really recommend it unless you just need something to throw on the TV on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Tonally and visually it is all over the place, the acting is intentionally grating, and the glossy CGI gore is not for everyone. If you are a Raimi fan, you will probably like it. If not, your mileage may vary.

Now I just want to see a spinoff franchise where the Book of the Dead gets left in random locations just to make life hell on earth. Bruce, you have one more left in you?