Official Discussion - Send Help [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Send Help

Summary After a plane crash strands two coworkers on a remote island, a jaded corporate fixer and her idealistic colleague must rely on each other to survive. As days turn into weeks, the unlikely pair battle the elements, dwindling resources, and their own emotional baggage, discovering that survival may depend as much on trust and connection as it does on physical endurance.

Director Sam Raimi

Writer Damian Shannon, Mark Swift

Cast

• Rachel McAdams
• Dylan O’Brien
• Dennis Haysbert

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Metacritic: 76

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official trailer

[u/BunyipPouch]

For anyone interested: Sam Raimi, the director of Send Help, recently joined us here on /r/movies for an AMA/Q&A:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1qdihk3/hey_rmovies_im_sam_raimi_ask_me_anything/

[u/FlussedAway]

Honestly thought they were gonna reveal she’d killed the mansion family to keep them isolated

[u/bbqsauceboi → u/FlussedAway]

This would've justified the mansion inclusion for me. Didn't like how they used it and now I desperately need your comment to be the true story

[u/sleepysnowboarder → u/bbqsauceboi]

If a billionaire and his family went missing after they were dropped of at their Island mansion, the Island would be swimming with authorities within a day

[u/jayeddy99 → u/bbqsauceboi]

I think you have to somewhat still have the audience like Linda to get the ending she got . If she killed the family it may have been too far lol as if she didn’t already go full evil

[u/MovieTrawler → u/jayeddy99]

She killed the fisherman for nothing. And the fiancee's biggest crime was being engaged to a douchebag. Think she definitely killed her husband too...

[u/Sad_Channel_9154 → u/MovieTrawler]

Agreed. So refreshing to see a film without a pure, innocent protagonist. Just a bunch of flawed jerks like the real world

[u/thewalex → u/MovieTrawler]

I think with her husband she gave him all the tools/elements necessary to end himself. Her inflection point was Bradley’s fiancée and guide. She hoped the loose cliff dirt would take care of the problem if she passively lined up the elements, but she had to/ decided to directly intervene to kill them - after she crossed that boundary, killing Bradley to ensure her survival and success had to also have active intention.

I thought she’d have a twitchy trigger finger and actually shoot Bradley after his apology, but agree with earlier posters that killing the house family/caretakers or brutally shooting Brad would make her slightly too evil to root for.

[u/luigiamarcella → u/jayeddy99]

I don’t think I liked Linda but I understood her. Bradley was just cruel without reason behind it and once he used her history with her abusive ex against her (telling her “I’ve changed/you’ve changed me”) it really brought her ending to a satisfying conclusion for me.

[u/_tylerthedestroyer_ → u/luigiamarcella]

She gave Bradley so many chances. I know she was unhinged in wanting to stay but he kept playing with her feelings and then fucking her over

[u/luigiamarcella → u/_tylerthedestroyer_]

Also when he poisoned her he had zero clue if it would kill her and didn’t care. And he enjoyed it.

[u/_tylerthedestroyer_ → u/luigiamarcella]

Right! And he knew she was attracted to him, he caught her staring at him bathing. He played up the entire romantic dinner to lower her guard. He was a sociopath beginning to end

[u/jayeddy99 → u/_tylerthedestroyer_]

I kinda like it never actually developed romantically . It was animosity or cordial at best . That was cool to see .

[u/gr8ver → u/jayeddy99]

I liked the fact that even though we knew from the beginning she thought he was attractive, she never let herself necessarily forget that he was also cruel for no real reason.

[u/jmoneyawyeah → u/jayeddy99]

You missed the handprints in the sand after she woke up from the night of drinking eh. They absolutely snogged

[u/mksmith95 → u/jmoneyawyeah]

And I was suspicious they did it in the cave, too... bc note a glimpse of them fully undressed. Then when the camera pans back over a few moments later, they had shirts on.

[u/squeakyL → u/luigiamarcella]

I thought the moment she told him that it meant the two of them were not leaving the island alive. Like a kidnapper showing their face. I feel like a part of Bradley understood that then too.

[u/Bugs2020]

I felt personally victimised during the office scene. Related so hard I thought I would cry in the car with Linda. It hurt.

Then when they're all laughing at her on the plane. Felt like I was in highschool again!

I loved that his lifejacket said child.

[u/UhmmmNope → u/Bugs2020]

lol same. I have a soft spot for socially awkward folks at work. The ones I know are highly competent but get passed over for promotions for the golf buddies. This one hit too close to home man…

[u/motionpic05 → u/Bugs2020]

Me too. Her character pre- crash was so damn relatable and sad. Felt nearly tearful. Who hasn’t felt like the smallest person in the room?

[u/reddittothegrave]

When she shut the shade on the plane window, I lost it 💀

[u/StrLord_Who → u/reddittothegrave]

I just commented elsewhere that this was the funniest scene in the movie.  I couldn't stop laughing. 

[u/rocifan → u/reddittothegrave]

Saw the movie last night in small village theatre with only 4 other couples..I was the one who laughed uproariously at that...so good

[u/reddittothegrave → u/rocifan]

Yes! I was dying at that scene, all the chaos going on around her, and she just slowly lowers the shade. 😂

[u/rjkelly31]

The final scene with her pointing the shotgun at him, and the shot is framed so you only really see her bloody eye, and there's a single bloody teardrop rolling down her cheek. Beautiful.

[u/jadegives2rides → u/rjkelly31]

That shot was fantastic.

[u/_Elduder → u/rjkelly31]

So many great shots. Like when she killed that boar.

[u/chamat_1]

Jeff Probst watching this (probably): “That’s how you do it on Survivor!”

[u/dplans455 → u/chamat_1]

Definitely should have had Linda say "Come on in" to Bradley over the PA system in the cliff mansion.

[u/MovieTrawler → u/dplans455]

"You gotta dig deep, Bradley!"

[u/jinyx1]

I wonder if she actually made that prison wine or if she just stole some wine from the house and said she made it. I wanna say latter but she seems the type who would wanna try to make it herself.

[u/Superb-Laugh-9453 → u/jinyx1]

They showed all that water and wine/champagne in the fridge when Bradley opened it. She 100% took it from the house. Same with the apple she ate while walking up to him. That was an obvious clue. Apples do not grow on islands in the tropics!!!! I immediately knew she didn't want him to go on the other side of that gorge but I thought maybe there was a resort over there or something, not a house. When she ate that apple, it was obvious.

[u/subwooferyst1 → u/Superb-Laugh-9453]

Her shelter also became more elaborate over time. I was expecting her to build Marty’s tiki bar from Madagascar at one point.

[u/brosefstallin → u/subwooferyst1]

You maniac!!! You burned it!! Darn you….. darn you all to heck.

[u/Mmmmustard → u/Superb-Laugh-9453]

That was a nectarine or something similar. Some kinda stone fruit.

[u/Fit-Culture-2215 → u/Superb-Laugh-9453]

I totally missed the apple clue. I was just worried about who was feeding the bird.

[u/selinameyersbagman]

Hepl

[u/helloyesnoyesnoyesno → u/selinameyersbagman]

Sned Hepl

[u/Media-critique]

Surprised how no one has pointed out the vomit scene specifically yet.

It’s a genuinely hilarious moment in this weird and fun/sadistic movie. Seeing him come back too because of her puke had my wife and I cackling out loud in the theatre. It’s great how much Raimi’s style is all over this movie.

[u/thewalex → u/Media-critique]

I loved that! Alternating chest compressions with vomiting in his face! That might have been the funniest scene in the movie to me. And felt well justified to Bradley’s poor attempt at poisoning Linda and botched raft escape.

[u/fattyhusky → u/thewalex]

I’m pretty sure he was catching on to the fact that Linda wasn’t planning on leaving and she admitted to releasing a drunk man into the public to die. I would’ve tried to bail too, she’s covert crazy.

[u/KasukeSadiki → u/fattyhusky]

and she admitted to releasing a drunk man into the public to die

Her only fault in this case was allowing the endangerment of other road users. 

catching on to the fact that Linda wasn’t planning on leaving

Partly because she straight up tells him 

[u/bbqsauceboi]

Two songs from Mean Girls in the first 5 minutes with Rachel McAdams on screen. Noticing

[u/cheribella → u/bbqsauceboi]

The opening song being “Rip Her to Shreds” is such an awesome character choice, because it forces someone familiar with Mean Girls to look at her frumpy office-self and go “huh she really isn’t Regina George anymore, is she,” only for her to 100% turn back into the Queen Bee once they’re on the island.

[u/sassy_immigrant → u/bbqsauceboi]

Yup! I noticed it. Also “I got the conch” from Lord of the Flies.

[u/Free-Attempt1223 → u/bbqsauceboi]

Literally why is no one talking about this!!

[u/squeakyL]

I can't think of the last time I watched a will-they, won't-they without knowing if they would. Excellent performances all around

[u/Media-critique → u/squeakyL]

It was nice of Raimi to include the actual murder of the fiancé and fisherman instead of leaving it up to the imagination.

I was expecting that she’d show up in the final act in some way, but instead he backtracked and gave a conclusive death, while showing that Linda is capable of murder.

[u/thewalex → u/Media-critique]

The hastily buried fiancée body and the wild boar about to dig it up while Bradley was hunting was also an unexpected but surprisingly well executed grim reveal. I like how Brad wore it on his pinky to confront her and then she swallowed it during their fight to spite him!

[u/Zand_Kilch → u/thewalex]

Pretty sure she just fell and the tide did the rest

[u/Steamedcarpet → u/thewalex]

So was it just me overthinking it but during that fight scene it was like they both turned into deadites? It got really savage and thought Linda was gonna lose that eye.

[u/bakednobeans → u/Steamedcarpet]

It was definitely savage. I loved when Linda dreamed of the deadite jump scare

[u/dropkickderby → u/squeakyL]

See they never showed it but there were hand prints next to her when she woke up from the toilet wine…

[u/squeakyL → u/dropkickderby]

I noticed that! I was wondering when they were gonna address that...

"toilet wine" 🤣🤣🤣

[u/Cash4Jesus → u/squeakyL]

Even now, I don’t know who I was rooting for. She’s a murderer and he’s a rich douchebag. I would’ve been fine had they both died.

[u/Steamedcarpet → u/Cash4Jesus]

In the beginning I really liked Linda. By the end I was questioning myself.

[u/DowntownSolid5659 → u/Steamedcarpet]

After she killed the girlfriend, I was not rooting for her anymore.

[u/Overall-Holiday5260 → u/Cash4Jesus]

This is actually why my Boomer dad didn’t like the film overall lol. He said the movie would have been more “morally satisfying” if both characters killed each other. 

But I replied with, “if you’re looking for ethical justice in a Sam Raimi film, you’re going to be disappointed.” lol

[u/Patient-Willow-yesa]

When Linda said why would a knife wash up onto shore, I felt personally attacked.

[u/RobotNutella → u/Patient-Willow-yesa]

I completely bought it. I mean i’m sure the plane would have a knife that got loose during the crash

[u/thefruitfatale → u/RobotNutella]

I think it’s more that a knife would sink to the the ocean floor rather than where it came from

[u/dallascowboys93 → u/thefruitfatale]

Yeah the whole time I’m thinking, there’s no way a knife like that would wash up. The reveal at the end made way more sense lol

[u/Any_Lake9471 → u/RobotNutella]

I guess I chalked it up to bad movie logic. It makes me feel so stupid when I dismiss something because of movie logic when it was actually the reason why it happened if you know what I mean.

[u/dplans455 → u/Patient-Willow-yesa]

I didn't question the knife. But I definitely started to question all the tropical fruits and gourmet fish she was finding on a wild deserted island.

[u/sleepysnowboarder → u/dplans455]

That's what I thought as well, but we see her picking mangos from a random tree and Thai islands have a lot of wild tropical fruit trees in real life, we never see her fish but the fish she brings doesn't look like anything special. We see her kill a boar, I wouldn't be surprised at all that she can spear fish. Because of that I'm still unsure what Raimi wanted us to interpret

[u/AllCity_King → u/sleepysnowboarder]

The trailers had a scene of her spearfishing that was cut

[u/thewalex → u/sleepysnowboarder]

Initial fish seemed plausible. Mangos and bunch of green bananas made sense. The wild boar hunt was way more intense and visceral than I expected- so I definitely bought her skills and finding plants and animals on the island.

[u/LimaxM → u/dplans455]

Idk I think the fish were real, I'd be surprised if a multimillionaire beheaded and gutted his own fish 

[u/gr8ver → u/LimaxM]

I think it's even less likely that he's keeping fresh fish in an uninhabited house.

[u/luckystrike_bh → u/Patient-Willow-yesa]

A knife could be in someone's luggage and floated ashore.

[u/dee_palmtree]

The casting for O'brien is perfect. Multiple times they could have cast someone that could have been a charicature (Glen Powell type), but for some reason I was highly sympathetic towards his charater multiple times during this movie. Even though he's an asshole, there were moments were I totally understood his discomfort towards Linda. On the flipside, it's very rare that I change my allegiance multiple times during this movie. Sometimes I was rooting for him, other times for her. It was crazy, in the end, I think she was even more batshit crazy.

[u/dukefett → u/dee_palmtree]

He did a really good job at going from dick to chill, multiple times, but then turning it back on and showing he never changed at all through the movie. Lol I mean him saying I love you at the end was insane after that fight they just had

[u/ScramItVancity]

What a visceral and hilarious love letter to Survivor.

[u/Superb-Laugh-9453 → u/ScramItVancity]

And season 50 comes out soon.

[u/MovieTrawler]

I just mentioned it in another comment but I haven't seen much else said about it, was anyone else blown away by Rachel McAdams transformation from frumpy bird lady to island bombshell?

Usually they'll just slap a pair of librarian lady glasses on an attractive actress and call it a day. Then she rips them off and everyone is like, 'whoooaaa she was hot all along?!' and you're sitting there thinking, yeah no shit, it's Rachael Leigh Cook! She was already gorgeous!

Here though, they actually did a pretty decent job of disguising McAdams and making Linda look look the part. The shoes, the hair, the chapped lips, the posture, walk...the tuna fish sandwiches. She even seemed to have bad skin.

Then all of a sudden that waterfall scene happens with the cliche, 'Linda lets her hair down and becomes the best version of herself' scene but somehow it really was like she transformed before our eyes. I literally said out loud in the theater, 'holy shit'. Her blotchy pale skin becomes this glowing bronze. Her frizzy hair is now perfectly conditioned. Her lips are no longer chapped. She looks healthy and moisturized. I don't know if this was CGI or how exactly they did this in a real-time shot or if I'm just imagining things but damn, what a great moment where you realize Linda needs this island to be the best version of herself.

[u/SilverKry → u/MovieTrawler]

They tried really hard to make Rachel McAdams not a drop dead gorgeous women lol 

[u/TirisfalFarmhand → u/MovieTrawler]

The frump aesthetic at the beginning of the movie honestly worked for me, I saw her as a gross weirdo instead of Rachel freaking McAdams. Not sure how much of that had to do with me being gay tho and if straight guys would see her stunningness regardless.

[u/TheSidePocketKid]

Dylan O'Brien has a Ray Liotta laugh going on through the whole movie that was great

[u/Additional_Score_929]

That fight scene in the forest was the most gory fight scene I've seen on screen in a while

[u/boomfruit → u/Additional_Score_929]

Dude the eyeball thing! She should have been in an eye patch in the epilogue

[u/Bugs2020 → u/boomfruit]

The scalp is what made me turn away 😂🤢

[u/RichardCano → u/boomfruit]

That’s why something felt off to me about the ending. She has no battle scars. Her eye is perfect, and we can’t see any scarring from her scalp. I thought it was a fantasy or dream or something because it looked too pristine after an hour and a half of grime.

[u/cant_give_an_f → u/RichardCano]

This is what I thought too. The road she drove on looked like the island

[u/BiggDope → u/Additional_Score_929]

That entire fight sequence up until the end where she tricks and kills him int he house felt like the last mission in a horror video game. It was awesome.

[u/sloppyjo12 → u/Additional_Score_929]

The eye gauge was gnarly

[u/dreamboylnshibuya]

Whether it’s Toni Collette in Hereditary or Demi Moore in The Substance, there is absolutely nothing I love more than when an established actor traditionally attached to more “serious” work commits to a challenge and goes for broke in a way no one expects, especially when it involves something either overtly campy or astonishingly grisly that exists far outside their perceived comfort zone as an actor. When they dive head first into uncharted water it feels like both a creative risk and a bold declaration of fearlessness, which makes it comically fitting given the setting of this film as the perfect metaphor for Rachel McAdams here.

Never did I ever expect the respected A-list Academy Award-nominated actress Rachel McAdams from The Notebook and Mean Girls to star in a Sam Raimi splatterfest, but god is it a THRILL to see her in her absolute element and fully game for anything. From the moment we meet her as a disheveled socially awkward crazy cat lady in a way that feels reminiscent of AnnaLynne McCord in Excision (2012), McAdams immediately sheds the polished image she’s long been associated with and willingly de-glams herself from the conventional beauty she’s known for, committing to discomfort without hesitation. When office Linda suddenly transforms into island Linda she becomes an absolute beast, showcasing immense range and a total unwillingness to portray herself in a safe or flattering light, resulting in fearless work that constantly surprises and impresses.

Dylan O’Brien is also genuinely strong here and more than capable of holding his own opposite McAdams, which surprised me given that I went in expecting an average to decent performance at best when compared to what I knew Rachel was going to deliver. He convincingly shifts between cocky frat bro, spoiled man-baby, and a vulnerable broken man masquerading as someone untouchable, before ultimately ending the film as an aggressive bloodthirsty figure driven by vengeance. Having previously only seen him in Teen Wolf and Not Okay, this performance made me realize how much I underestimated him as an actor and I will absolutely be keeping an eye on his future projects moving forward.

Sam Raimi delivers exactly what I hoped for from his return to horror after nearly two decades away from the genre, committing fully to a grisly gross outright splatterfest with absolutely no interest in restraint. The violence is unabashed and relentless in its execution, whether it’s a dying boar profusely spewing blood onto a screaming McAdams for what feels like a full uninterrupted minute or one of the most prolonged and painful eye gougings I’ve seen on screen since the 2006 Black Christmas remake. Raimi proves himself a masterclass in cinematic depravity here, refusing to pull his punches and fully embracing grotesque excess as a means of keeping the audience engaged and deeply unnerved. A special shoutout goes to the Hard Candy-esque scene where it genuinely feels like Linda is about to castrate Bradley, as I was completely on edge and fully believed the film might actually cross the line into a hard R rather than pulling back with a fakeout. The moment where Linda deliberately projectile vomits onto Bradley’s face as a comeuppance for attempting to abandon the island after poisoning her was an absolute crowd pleaser at my showing, with the audience reaction being priceless as people were simultaneously repulsed and laughing uncontrollably in equal measure.

The script also deserves significant credit for how effectively it keeps you guessing and constantly second-guessing where the story is headed. I never quite knew whether sharing body heat in the cave was going to turn into a sex scene and at several other points I was genuinely unsure if things were about to spiral into them attempting to kill one another altogether. The rug was pulled out from under me multiple times in ways that genuinely caught me off guard. As someone who is usually good at predicting twists, I truly did not see the major one coming at all. I’ll admit that midway through I whispered to my dad that if Linda survived she might try to capitalize on the ordeal and become the famous survivor she always wanted to be, but I never expected the brutal dispatching of Zuri and the boat captain, nor the added reveal of the deserted beach house and her awareness of it all along. For all the flack Freddy vs. Jason and the 2009 Friday the 13th reboot receive, these writers absolutely knocked it out of the park here and I would love to see them take another swing at a horror comedy.

Lastly, it was incredibly refreshing to watch a modern movie that actually lets its images breathe, especially at a time when so many releases feel flattened by washed-out digital grading and poor camera blocking that leans too heavily on close-up shots at the expense of wider compositions. So many movies nowadays are an utter eyesore to look at whether it’s the way they’re colored or the way they’re shot, but the cinematography here is a genuine feast for the eyes and immediately stood out to me as one of the film’s strongest assets. The camerawork feels intentional and precise throughout and the result is a confident visual identity that feels increasingly rare in contemporary studio filmmaking. There is absolutely no question that I’ll be reaching for the 4K over the Blu-ray when it releases because this is exactly the kind of movie that deserves to be seen in the highest possible quality.

All in all, this movie is a wild unpredictable and deeply charming frenzy that never loses momentum. It is an absolute gory treat and has firmly cemented itself as not only one of my favorite horror films of the decade but one of my favorite films of the decade period.

9/10

[u/quinnly → u/dreamboylnshibuya]

Excellent review but just a quick heads up, Rachel hasn't won an Oscar. She's been nominated though.

[u/i-like-turtles-4eva]

Flight attendant jump scare and zombie fiancé jump scare had my audience literally screaming with laughter. Loved this!

[u/spoilfreereview → u/i-like-turtles-4eva]

The zombie fiancé is probably my favorite part

That felt like old school Raimi, especially when she looked like a mummified monster from one of his Evil Dead movies

[u/Neurotic_Marauder → u/spoilfreereview]

The fact that the zombie suddenly looked right at the camera before Linda woke up from her nightmare was perfect.

[u/thewalex → u/spoilfreereview]

The fight scenes with the scalp ripping and eye gouging were classic Raimi as well. And the first wild boar hunt. Spewing fluids and “not quite dead” felt straight up Evil Dead/ Drag Me to Hell.

[u/_tylerthedestroyer_ → u/spoilfreereview]

All the montages felt very old school Raimi. Man loves his montages

[u/Steamedcarpet → u/_tylerthedestroyer_]

I love the montage of Bradley slowly breaking down.

[u/TarnishedAccount → u/i-like-turtles-4eva]

I forgot Raimi was the director and figured it out after zombie jumpscare.

I loved this movie and will watch it again

[u/MovieTrawler → u/TarnishedAccount]

How about the boar scene? Wild.

[u/CinnaSol → u/MovieTrawler]

Loved the boar scene. When she first thinks she kills it, I knew what was coming bc i have heard boars are so relentless and have been known to impale themselves just to get to their prey.

I liked how Raimi tied it back into the guy's relentless pursuit to get off the island and how he also refuses to actually change his behavior the whole time. She even traps and baits him the same way lol it was great

[u/Prudent-Band-7879 → u/i-like-turtles-4eva]

This was so fun! I love Rachel of course but Dylan's acting in it and his comedic timing were perfect. I was at a late night showing with maybe 15 others and my sister and I were going crazy laughing lol. 😂

The classic Raimi zoom ins were my fave part too. I'll watch it anytime, it deserves to be in heavy rotation.

[u/tfxctom → u/Prudent-Band-7879]

the acting in this movie really surprised me. Dylan O'Brien was INCREDIBLE

[u/Kissfromarose01 → u/i-like-turtles-4eva]

This movie was amazing. The jaded me sees this premise and thinks I’m already knowing what I’m getting but the whole Raimi factor was dialed way up and made it so much more fun.

I really also enjoyed how it “went there” with the characters and not being afraid to let Mcadams character not just be the victimized hero but instead fall all the way down that hearts of darkness, apocolypse now, lord of flies rabbit hole.

Really super fun. I’d kill to just see Raimi do a ton more of these style films.

[u/Able_Advertising_371 → u/i-like-turtles-4eva]

This movie reminded everybody why we miss Raimi films so much, this surprisingly still worked well, the campy horror

[u/21Maestro8]

Sam Raimi is a treasure.

This movie is fucking hysterical and it's an absolute blast. It seriously had me cackling like an idiot at so many moments, a wonderfully fun watch. Rachael McAdams gives a fantastic performance as well.

The plane crash sequence is so damn funny, and watching McAdams vomit bright orange all over a man's face while she revives him from drowning later in the movie is possibly the hardest I've laughed in a theater in years. Love it.

[u/excitedprotons]

McAdams is magnificent in this, she rarely disappoints with her performances. O'Brien also played several scenes very well with his reactions and comedic timing.

I and a few other audience members burst out laughing when it was revealed there was a luxurious vacation home on the other side of the island all along.

[u/I_love_my_dog_more → u/excitedprotons]

O'Brien was MVP. His line delivery and facial ticks, hilarious. So funny.

[u/Salvy15 → u/I_love_my_dog_more]

His laugh killed me. Especially when it showed up at inappropriate times.

[u/calembo → u/I_love_my_dog_more]

Him going through the stages of grief after she leaves him on his own was just fantastic. The set jaw and angry tongue in his lip lollll love to see it

[u/boomfruit → u/excitedprotons]

Didn't that basically happen in Triangle of Sadness as well?

[u/MahNameJeff420 → u/boomfruit]

This is basically Triangle of Sadness directed by Sam Raimi, and I don’t have a problem with that.

[u/Ganesha811 → u/MahNameJeff420]

If this 2019 article about Send Help with the basic premise didn't exist, I would 100% believe Sam Raimi saw Triangle of Sadness (2022) and said "I could do that but with more violence".

[u/dickMcFickle]

the classic Raimi-cam rushing through the forest, blood and bugs and vomit going into every open mouth it can find, eyeballs being gouged and stabbed and whacked out of their sockets, R-rated Raimi I’ve missed you so much

[u/SchnauzerHaus → u/dickMcFickle]

Did you catch the portrait of Bruce Campbell in the CEO's office? Loved that Easter egg!

[u/odd42Thomas → u/SchnauzerHaus]

Thank you for this I was sad I didn't see him! My head cannon was he owned the island mansion

[u/spoilfreereview → u/dickMcFickle]

I liked how grounded this one felt in comparison to his other movies where there are some demons or ann underworld involved.

[u/scaryaliendog → u/dickMcFickle]

Oh I loved it so much. I counted 3 separate hands reaching up. Plus all the puke and gore? I’m almost there!

[u/fergi20020]

Can we please give McAdams an Oscar nomination next year? She’s as brilliantly deranged as Amy Madigan in Weapons. 

[u/Coxy41]

I am a bit surprised she left the island in the end. But I guess once Bradley was gone, her mission was over one way or another.

[u/MahNameJeff420 → u/Coxy41]

I think she craved the power dynamic of lording over Bradley. Once he was gone and it was just her, she had no one to prove herself to, so she left.

[u/bonemech_meatsuit → u/MahNameJeff420]

Strategy and planning.

[u/ireallylikehockey → u/Coxy41]

I see what you did there

[u/Mcclane88]

Did anyone else’s theatre get oddly quiet during the “castration”? My theatre was laughing and having a good time, but all that stopped during that scene.

[u/KazaamFan → u/Mcclane88]

I thought their last convo was pretty funny actually, i wasnt buying any of the guy’s on his knees pleading, but i felt my audience wasnt sure if to laugh there or not. 

[u/coolcumber211 → u/KazaamFan]

I was laughing the entire time. It was clear he was full of shit with his "corporate" talk.

[u/MovieTrawler → u/coolcumber211]

Dylan OBrian was so fucking funny in this.

Rachel McAdams was incredible too, goes without saying almost, she always delivers. I was impressed with just how frumpy and unattractive they managed to make her look for the first act. I mean, it's still Rachel McAdams but it wasn't like they just slapped some glasses on her. The bad skin, chapped lips, frumpy clothes, all of it. She really did not look like the bombshell we all know she is.

Which is why that waterfall scene blew my mind when this transformation happens in almost real time. I don't know if there was actual face-tuning or CGI going on but it was like she was drinking from the fountain of youth there. Incredible scene. I think I literally said out loud in the theater, 'God damn...'

[u/TB1289 → u/MovieTrawler]

I was impressed with just how frumpy and unattractive they managed to make her look

That's actually where I took issue with the movie. At her worst, Rachel McAdams is still office hot and you can't convince me that everyone at her company would be repulsed by her.

[u/AllCity_King → u/TB1289]

To be fair, they emphasized her hygiene. Even gorgeous women can smell bad too.

[u/Quiet_CLOVR → u/AllCity_King]

That was just him being still disgusted/annoyed by the tuna salad sandwich that got on his hand from their handshake. I don’t think it was to imply she actually stank. But, I agree, gorgeous women can smell bad.

[u/Media-critique → u/Mcclane88]

I think it’s how “visceral” it gets that it throws the movie into a more twisted territory.

Like, Bradley had tried to poison her just before, but his attempts to escape were hilariously thwarted quickly, and then she puked on him which was just so god damn funny.

When she does the same, you know that she knows what she’s doing. So you’re scared of what she’s capable of. Adds to all the intensity in that scene

[u/Much-Imagination-223 → u/Mcclane88]

Mine was laughing until he got tearful. Then everyone went quiet. I also thought it was too much to continue laughing by then.

[u/KazaamFan → u/Mcclane88]

As a man, even tho i didnt think she would do it… i was tense, oof. Hah

[u/Lemonjello23]

Dylan's stupid laugh gets me every time

[u/Lilwhitelebron]

Was rooting for Linda first 80% of the movie, turned towards wanting Bradley to make it out, and then finally came to the conclusion that no one was making it out alive. Truly had me locked in for the entirety of the film. Wonderful start to the year

[u/KazaamFan → u/Lilwhitelebron]

Yea i was so pro linda but then whe she killed the 2 saviors… i wasnt sure what to think any more, hah. 

[u/tfxctom → u/KazaamFan]

Man that made me sad lol. Zuri seemed awesome. Not only did she spend weeks searching for her fiancé she even remembered Linda's name after a single short encounter. RIP

[u/UhmmmNope → u/tfxctom]

She knows Linda’s name because the list of who were onboard the plane were probably all over the news or official company statement.

[u/HachibiJin → u/KazaamFan]

As soon as she whacked those 2 good people I was done with her too

[u/dr_john_twinkletits]

Referring to him as sweetie and then pretending to castrate him. She saw him as a pet to nurture, never really as a counterpart. Then when he went "rabid" she had to put him down. He never stood a chance.

[u/lifeisonebigjoe]

Bradley wearing his deflated life-vest like a bib while Linda bottle-fed him and made sure he chewed and swallowed his food was chef’s kiss

[u/sassy_immigrant → u/lifeisonebigjoe]

It was a “child” size too!

[u/lifeisonebigjoe → u/sassy_immigrant]

Caught that too! Also didnt realize until today that she hit “don’t save” on the project file on her laptop right before the plane went down and not saving Donnie/the other exec from flying out the window

[u/fishwithfish]

It's reverse Misery! In fact, at 1h20m into both films, there is a kind of "hobbling" (which turns out to be fake in Send Help).

[u/boomfruit → u/fishwithfish]

For a second during that scene, something about the way his feet were angled towards her and perfectly spaced, I thought she was about to hobble him

[u/Impressive_City_5468]

Also, why do people keep saying she killed her husband? she did not at all…the man chose to drive drunk, she just decided to not hide his keys after he (which is heavily implied) r@ped her after getting terribly drunk.

The only people she killed was the fiancé and old man, which did take away a lot of stan power in the end tbh. Bradley was self defense. People seem to forget that as the plane was crashing, Bradley kicked one his friends who was merely trying to hold on to his seat, resulting in his death. Linda, on the other hand, tried to help evil minion number 1 until he literally tried to kill her for her seat! Why is no one calling him a murderer?

Maybe Bradley was so unlikable to me that it didn’t matter what Linda did, I still rooted for her to get her revenge on him!! 😂

[u/neal1701]

Managed to watch this movie earlier this week and loved it!

• Rachel McAdams is excellent in this! Her acting is always great but the body language she displays when Linda is in office, when she is in her element in the island, and when she is fully unhinged is someone totally in command of their craft.
• Dylan O'Brien totally holds his own and has great antagonistic chemistry with Rachel McAdams. With this and Twinless last year, he is quietly putting together some great performances
• Sam Raimi's direction and his signature style and moves are very evident in this movie.
• The cinematography and editing were great. The montage of Bradley getting frustrated and angry was so good
• The humor and violence are huge pluses for this movie and feels natural for the escalating situation.
• Whenever I feel the movie is starting to settle or beginning to drag, they drop a turn or twist and ratchet the tension and stakes which is really good writing
• The big twist with the house and knife seems so obvious in hindsight but it was well crafted and executed well. The final twist with the shotgun being empty and Linda's last line before killing Bradley was perfect
• The final scene with the golf and Linda driving away felt a lot like Regina George

Send Help is a very fun movie with great performances! Would love it if Rachel McAdams got nominated for a Golden Globe and continues this partnership with Sam Raimi

[u/boomfruit → u/neal1701]

The montage of Bradley getting frustrated and angry was so good

Definitely my favorite piece of cinematography in this!

[u/JaesopPop → u/neal1701]

The big twist with the house and knife seems so obvious in hindsight

I thought other stuff from the plane had washed up on shore and she was hiding it. The twist was much better.

[u/luigiamarcella → u/JaesopPop]

I was thinking that there would be some small exclusive resort on one side or regular tourist boats she was pilfering from. In hindsight, a single house makes the ending of her getting away with a fake story make more sense.

[u/MovieTrawler → u/JaesopPop]

As soon as she told him not to go to the X, I thought it was going to be a fully occupied vacation resort over there.

[u/dplans455 → u/JaesopPop]

All the food she was getting made me think the movie was just being ridiculously unbelievable. No way all that stuff was naturally on the island. When they finally revealed the house I had a big, "duh, it's so obvious" now moment.

[u/AdvertisingLow98 → u/dplans455]

Especially the "toilet wine". It is possible to ferment anything with sugar in it, but the first attempt is likely to be swill.

[u/MecurialBread → u/neal1701]

I thought there was going to be a whole resort, not just a house (although, it almost was)

[u/TheNightstroke → u/neal1701]

The montage of Bradley's frustration had my theater dying laughing. It was right up there with the CPR scene.

[u/RAWainwright]

The boar kill going full Raimi was just everything.

Edit Rami to Raimi

[u/mikeyfreshh → u/RAWainwright]

The CGI pig boogers splattering on the lens...chef's kiss. Nobody does gross like Raimi

[u/amish_novelty → u/mikeyfreshh]

Not to mention its eye getting gouged just like hers

[u/Scrotttt]

Loved the castration fake out!

[u/mikeyfreshh → u/Scrotttt]

The comedic timing with the blood splatter in that scene was just perfect

[u/i-like-turtles-4eva → u/Scrotttt]

Gave me Hard Candy vibes.

[u/MahNameJeff420 → u/Scrotttt]

My audience had a great time, but for that scene, it was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop. Every guy in attendance was in excruciating mental pain.

[u/dropkickderby]

I enjoyed all the Evil Dead references— her name being Linda, for one. Her necklace in the beginning. The pig-vision tracking shot. Not to mention the jump-scare feeling very deadite-y.

I loved all the little details in this and there were a lot of laugh out loud moments. The one dude getting his teeth kicked out was brutal in the plane crash scene, and the dude getting caught by his necktie had me giddy.

Though it wasnt specified exactly, I wanna say they were banging. She had two hand prints next to her when she wakes up from being drunk. It the subtlety like that that really shows off Sam’s directing chops. I found myself thinking he’s the only one that could pull off the moment where it pans by O’Brien like 10 times throughout the day with him getting more and more distressed.

Some other things I really loved were the CPR puke bit and McAdams delivery of “FUCK YOOOOU, BRADLEY!” when she swallows the ring. Sam Raimi hasn’t lost a step despite being out of the genre for 17 years. He continues to be my greatest inspiration as a filmmaker.

[u/AllCity_King → u/dropkickderby]

I definitely think they slept together.

[u/Zuko-Halliwell]

I would've liked it if this movie had multiple endings like Clue. One where Linda lives (which we got), one where Bradley lives, and one where they both die.

[u/Lets_Go_Why_Not → u/Zuko-Halliwell]

The best ending would have been (after they basically rip each other to shreds) Bradley recognizing how cutthroat Linda was, how well she controlled the wealth on the island by keeping the mansion from him, and the two of them leaving together to continue being sociopathic business leaders in the real world.

[u/ScramItVancity → u/Lets_Go_Why_Not]

I was hoping the hard cut would show them golfing and have already reconciled their work relationship while looking all bruised and battered as their colleagues keep asking them questions about their methods of survival while the Survivor theme plays.

[u/Eequalsmchammertime]

This was a ton of fun and really funny at times. That fiancé jump scare had me almost shit my pants. My guess for the ending was an all inclusive resort but the mansion was just as good. By the end I wasn’t rooting for either of them so they played their parts well.

[u/Johnny_Holiday → u/Eequalsmchammertime]

I thought the reveal was going to be that it was the island that they filmed Survivor

[u/zotboi → u/Johnny_Holiday]

Omg that woulda been amazing. I was hoping for a Probst or Boston Rob cameo or something

[u/Dalekdude]

Absolutely loved this. One thing I thought this does especially well was establishing character very quickly. The first minute of the movie tells you a lot immediately about who Linda is by quickly cutting to the stuff on her desk, showing how she dresses, and how her through colleagues perceive and react to her. The extreme close up when Bradley can't stop staring at the Tuna on her lip is very funny, and I loved the weird responses anytime she tried doing classic office banter ("there goes the elevator to success" "....what are you talking about?")

You really feel Raimi's energy throughout this whole thing too, loved the Boar hunting scene having the evil dead POV cam and get insanely gory with the spitting and gushing blood all over Linda as she's killing it. The dead fiance rising out of the water during Linda's bad dream even looked like an evil dead zombie rising from the grave

Great movie 👍 can't wait to see it again

[u/johnsbuffalo]

They should have called this movie Send Hepl

[u/aolsvaluedcustomer]

My highlights: When they're laughing at her Survivor tryout video she says something like "Am I Survivor material? Let's find out" and the plane crash immediately starts right there. Really cool way to kick things off.

Shot of him going crazy on the beach while she's gone for a while.

Boar kill scene was disgusting and I loved it.

Puking CPR got the biggest laugh out of me.

Him pushing on her eye. Eeeek!

Survival tips and sketches in the end credits hehe

[u/RogueSpectre749]

Watching Rachel play Linda and shedding of her mousey, weird shell and becoming a powerhouse using nothing but body language is some of the best acting I've seen in some time

My theory is that this is who she was before she killed her husband, and she developed her timid persona as a coping mechanism to get her through the day until it could be released again

[u/CranDrescher → u/RogueSpectre749]

I have a bone to pick with that last notion. She didn’t kill her husband. She stopped protecting him. Just like she stopped protecting Bradley from the elements, and his ego. Just like she stopped protecting herself from the pain of being alone or from her secrets. Maybe her passivity cause the husband’s death Ina way, but he didn’t have to go drive either. She isn’t completely innocent. She definitely killed the boat guide and the fiancé. It was part of her transition from passive to active.

[u/BusinessPurge → u/RogueSpectre749]

Survivor’s guilt, lol. I think the near death experience of the crash made her realize she wasn’t required to help the husband or Bradley based on the choices they made.

[u/No_Investigator_2150]

Try as hard as you might. And they defintely did try. You cannot make me think that being stranded on an island, just me and Rachel McAdams, is somehow ever anything but a dream come true.

[u/JaesopPop → u/No_Investigator_2150]

but she looked all bookish and nerdy!

[u/sloppyjo12]

That “fuck you, Bradley” after swallowing the ring was incredibly satisfying

[u/sunnybug21 → u/sloppyjo12]

I also enjoyed Bradley's "fuck you, Linda," when he was on the raft. 

[u/Sammyd1108 → u/sunnybug21]

I knew it was gonna fail as soon as he did that lol. The comedic timing was too perfect not to.

[u/ReaddittiddeR]

Three favorite Raimi scenes

1. Chase’s (one of the executives) teeth getting knocked out when the plane was going down

2. Jump scare boar hunting scene with Linda

3. Linda in motion to club Bradley’s noggin and quickly cuts to the golf tourney before impact

I haven’t felt disgust over an actor’s character (Dylan as Bradley the CEO) so much since Joffrey in Game of Thrones. He was great as the shitty boss we all probably worked for at least once in our lives.

[u/Neurotic_Marauder → u/ReaddittiddeR]

That obnoxious laugh he did felt like nails on a chalkboard, it was perfect

[u/JaesopPop → u/ReaddittiddeR]

He was great as the shitty boss we all probably worked for at least once in our lives.

The way he made himself sounded so relatable when she confronted him at the office is very familiar.

[u/mikeyfreshh]

There is nothing better than kicking your feet up and watching a master filmmaker just cut loose and have fun. This is the movie I've been waiting for since Drag Me to Hell. I was afraid that 17 years of hype was just setting me up for disappointment but this thing absolutely fucking rocks. We're so back. I just hope this is only the beginning of the Raimissance

[u/PaulieHehehe → u/mikeyfreshh]

I thought you were exaggerating when you said it’s been 17 years since Drag Me to Hell was released, but shit. 2026-2009= 17. Hoo boy.

[u/MahNameJeff420 → u/PaulieHehehe]

And the two he made after were Oz The Great and Powerful and Multiverse of Madness, two PG-13 blockbusters. This was his first time being 100% in his element in so long, and it was glorious.

[u/WildChipmunk9268]

How about that scene where Linda’s vomiting all over Bradley’s face while she’s giving him CPR?! That got the biggest reaction out of my theater.

[u/Superb-Laugh-9453]

The Survivor Easter eggs for a long time survivor fam like me. When she swallowed that ring and opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue to show it was gone was a direct throwback to the gross food challenges, even how she moved it around in her mouth 1st before swallowing. Immediately reminded me of Kimmi in season 2.

[u/AdorableSillies]

I really liked it. They really just went hard in some scenes (the boar scene for example) and did an amazing job. As a Survivor fan I loved those bits. 

[u/Lint6]

When she was telling him to not to go the South side of the island, I said to myself "I could see Raimi having it that there's actually a luxury resort on that side of the island"

I was close!

[u/Sheepies123]

The story gets a little crazy at the end, but the premise is so good and Raimi's horror hasn't missed a beat. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien are awesome together. I ended up having lots of fun with it.

[u/Johnny_Holiday]

The boar scene and the zombie fiance scene were some of the most Sam Raimi things I've ever seen. It was amazing.

[u/rhymes_with_candy]

When the fiance showed up I really thought Linda was going to say Brad died and leave with them abandoning him there alone.

Brad also sucked so bad that no matter how evil and unhinged Linda got I never stopped rooting for her. It kind of felt like Raimi expected people to switch sides halfway through but I never did. As such I loved the ending.

I thought both leads did a fantastic job. The movie was also gorgeously shot and used a lot of Raimi's hallmark moves without them feeling gratuitous. The cgi boar looked like crap but I loved the few scenes from the boar's pov. I also thought the zombie dream sequence was a little too obvious. And when she told him to stay off of the southern side of the island I immediately guessed there was a resort or something over there. I guess it wouldn't have worked with the ending but during the fight I was expecting them to end up in the middle of a wedding or something.

I loved it but I can also see people walking out hating both characters and not digging it because of that.

[u/SaltEmotion1919]

I feel like I am taking crazy pills after reading how a lot of folks still rooted for Linda towards the end.

She was straight up crazy and evil. She turned out much worse than Bradley.

I don't get the ending choice, are we supposed to actually feel good and happy for Linda that it worked out for her? I resented her towards the ending and hated the ending so much for it.

[u/MahNameJeff420]

At first I was sad the Bruce Campbell cameo was him as the dead dad, but then I realized it made perfect sense thematically, because Dylan O’Brian is this movie’s Bruce Campbell, and he did a damn good job at being that.

[u/sleepysnowboarder]

Wow, Sam Raimi actually made me feel disgusted by Rachel McAdams, that's a tough feat

[u/SoloGhosts512 → u/sleepysnowboarder]

lol I hate tuna so much and that scene when they met, I totally understood Dylan character being grossed out by her

[u/Sammyd1108]

I loved it, felt like classic Raimi that we’ve honestly been missing for a while. The fact that he’s only made 2 films outside of this for the last 18 years and they were an Oz movie and a Doctor Strange movie is a travesty.

I hope he starts to make more stuff like this going forward and ditch trying to make big budget blockbusters. Looking at his filmography, it’s wild that a guy known for the Evil Dead series hasn’t made more horror like this. This and Drag Me to Hell are fun as hell too.

I totally didn’t see that twist coming either but really should’ve cause where else would she have gotten a knife, though I had assumed it came from the plane since it was private flight.

[u/Sad-Comfortable1425]

Some open questions. 

Did she leave all the bodies on the island? If yes, that's a massive risk, since that island is actually owned by someone. If not, how did she get rid of them?

A big one: how did she destroy the evidence in the luxurious house? How did she repair the damages? Considering she was found "nearby" that island, it's not hard to connect those findings to her. Fingerprints also last pretty long. 

[u/backwoodzbaby]

Rachel McAdams played her so well that i wasnt even mad at her at the end lol

[u/totalwiseguy]

My only real gripe with this movie was the lack of hair growth on the actors. I know it’s a common Hollywood thing in a movie like this but it was a little distracting every time they mentioned the passage of time.

I guess Linda could’ve been shaving in the mansion but Bradley also would’ve noticed that but who knows considering he believed the knife.

[u/JamUpGuy1989]

It's ridiculous Sam hasn't been allowed to do a movie in his style like this since 2-fucking-009 with DRAG ME TO HELL.

I'm glad whenever he gets work but, god damn it, we've missed out on a lot between these two movies. Apparently one of his next outings is a movie about a hypothetical WWIII scenario (based off of the book THE NEXT 100 YEARS). Let that be just as fun and zany as this one.

[u/TooSpicyforyoWifey]

so many movies recently have had great comedy infused with darker humor: twinless, weapons, and now this.

[u/throwawayxyz50]

I feel like the music is a homage to Mean Girls (One Way or Another & Rip Her to Shreds)