In some other universe, this film probably exists as a feel-good rom-com. A daffy, PG-rated, buddy-caper, where mismatched work colleagues fall in love after being stranded on a desert island. However, the multiverse isn’t real (probably), and this was directed by Sam Raimi. Whilst the erstwhile Evil Dead director has been rightly deified by horror fans for his contributions to the genre over the years, he’s been lost in the Superhero wilderness for a while. Even so, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had oodles of familiar references for his supporters, and he is still producing multiple new genre projects. But his last proper excursion into filmic shock treatment as a director was Drag Me to Hell in 2009. Despite classifications, and if we’re being nitpicky, Send Help isn’t definitively horror as such either. But it has enough elements to at least “Venn Diagram” itself into that region, and it feels like classic Raimi splatstick. If that isn’t enough of a hook, then the fact that the versatile and much-admired actress Rachel McAdams headlines the cast is easily another reason to consider a viewing. Although mostly known for dramas and comedies, it was from working with Raimi on the Doc Strange sequel that he picked her for this project, noting her willingness to go gonzo during supernatural scenes. She’s joined by Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf and the Maze Runner films) as her enforced partner in this horror-ish/comedy/thriller. Now showing in UK and US cinemas (and doing pretty well commercially and critically), should the film be left stranded or rescued for posterity?

 

Linda Liddle (a perfectly cast McAdams) is the put-upon corporate employee in a large financial institution. Her skills as a strategist and planner are exemplary, but her seniors take advantage of her meekness and social insecurities. However, her previous boss promised her the role of vice-president at some point, and she coasts on this belief. So, it’s a bit of a metaphorical slap-in-the-face when the current CEO (O'Brien as Bradley Preston, the son of the earlier boss) completely disregards this and appoints his just-arrived golfing buddy in that role. Belittled and mocked, she nonetheless goes with Bradley and his cronies on a business trip to Bangkok. Unfortunately, there’s an engine failure on the private jet and everyone dies after it slams into the Gulf of Thailand. Well, almost everyone. Linda struggles ashore a small desert island and finds that Bradley has also washed up on the beach, albeit with an injured leg and a dose of unconsciousness. She nurses him back to health, but as soon as he begins to recover, he tries to revert to office politics and gain control of the situation. But Linda’s not having that. Now thriving in paradise, she’s no longer the dowdy punch-bag of the organisation, and she’s going to prove it.

 

For anyone who’s seen the trailers for this movie, you might be surprised as to how the situation is contrived and the character traits that are involved. First footage suggested that Linda was just a doormat and entirely the victim in the office. Whereas Bradley seemed an irredeemable dirtbag who was going to deserve everything that came to him. Whilst that is still largely the case, it’s not that black-and-white. Linda might be a little naive and has no self-awareness, but she also eats drippy tuna mayonnaise stink-wiches at her desk and tries to bludgeon her way into social interactions with no cues. She still comes across as the mistreated underdog and mostly likeable though (and she’s Rachel McAdams ferchrissakes). Dylan is a douchebag, entitled, and the perfect example of a “horrible boss”. But he does have a point about the tuna sandwiches. Anyway, we point this out because it provides an encapsulation of the narrative. Some things aren’t as they seem, and you might be tempted to switch allegiances as the storyline progresses. That’s clever interplay by Raimi and the writers, Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, who both worked on Freddy Vs Jason and the Friday the 13th remake. So, prepare to be entertained and see people unnecessarily covered in at least two types of bodily fluids.

 

You suspect that the film wouldn’t work so well if wasn’t for the casting choices. McAdams is frankly brilliant, and it’s a shame that she hasn’t done more genre work previously. As she goes from office drudge to Amazonian hunter, it feels a natural progression, and she genuinely commits to the role and transformation. Her final “animalistic” form is something to behold in the last frenetic act. Both leads absolutely go for it at various points in the plot, with O’Brien also shining in what could have been a one-note role. He gamely plays up the douchey qualities of the character but also inserts some sly charm and the touches of ingenuity that are so necessary for it to work. Watch his gormless facial expression shift after a failed escape attempt from the island, which is then followed by something much more distressing. Class work. And seriously, without giving the game away, some of the interactions in the latter stages are genuinely impressive moments of tooth-and-claw ferocity. Give these folks a round of applause.

 

With his two leads and the basic storyline, Raimi is in his element here. Chucking gore and spittle with merry abandonment, you can’t help but grin at the more over-the-top elements, as disgusting as they may be. Linda’s boar hunt is surprisingly suspenseful and blood-drenched. Compare it with the feeble effort seen in Strangers: Chapter 2. Now this is how you make a boar attack frightening!! The plot itself is a kind of mashup of several movies like The Admirable Chrichton (Google it, young whippersnappers), Castaway, and (as strange as it may seem) Misery. Fans of Triangle of Sadness might raise an eyebrow at some elements as well. That’s not to belittle the experience or anything. Raimi is too canny for that, and he’s having fun here. Where else could you see somebody being resuscitated from a drowning whilst being coated generously in fluorescent vomit at the same time? He also tosses in a few fun homages as well. There are a couple of Jaws references (think Ben Gardner and Chrissie Watkins), and he just can’t help but throw in a surreal zombie/deadite moment as well. Plot contrivances flirt with the tropes of desert island romances and survival horror, but the snappy dialogue and grey morality take it into fresh territories, and you’ll have a fun time. There’s a nice swashbuckling soundtrack from Danny Elfman, too.

 

It helps that things aren’t as cut-and-dried as you might think. There are a ton of sequences where power shifts and sympathies change, all of which are beautifully managed by the leads. One such scene is the nicely handled monologue where a drunken Linda reveals the truths about a past relationship. Nobody is entirely “good” or “bad”, and there’s an underlying theme as to how power and control can generally corrupt a person. It’s also nice to note that it never falls into simple gender or social political cliches. As you would expect, Raimi does well with some of the more frantic scenes that veer towards splatstick. One particularly odious character gets a satisfying and prolonged fate during the air crash (which is also handled well by the way). There’s a grim moment that will potentially bring tears to the eyes of any man that is quite ingeniously set up and played out. And again, we’ll mention the splendidly nasty confrontation that caps a lot of the events towards the end. Vintage stuff from Mr Raimi.

 

The only slight fly in the ointment comes from wishing that perhaps the good/bad nature of the characters as depicted in the trailer could have been a bit more pronounced in the story. That might sound a bit opposite to the appreciation so far, but the chaotic end sequences (and some interim ones) are so satisfyingly full-on that you can’t help but wish some more of this intense conflict and the cat-and-mouse antics had been sustained for more of the film. The cast definitely had it in them after all! Also, whilst the location shooting in Australia and Thailand is absolutely splendid and well-used, there are some scenes that have slightly substandard levels of CG or practical effects. This is especially true of the cliffside sequences, where you half-expect to see the pure white of polystyrene to be bared on the cliff face during rock falls and suchlike. Really rather fake-looking and shoddy when compared to the other visuals. This is true for another location as well, but we won’t go there.

 

Aside from those petty gripes, there’s not much to find fault with here. McAdams and O’Brien are pitch-perfect, the levels of brutality and nastiness are on point, and the storytelling is ingenious. Even the little bits of visual trickery from Raimi are welcome, such as the moment where he repeatedly pans across Bradley’s face as he succumbs to dehydration. It’s just that some scenes are so good that it would have been nice if that intensity and cleverness were spread more smoothly across the whole running time. But it’s an easy film to recommend and seems to have gone down a storm in many territories. Now, if we could just persuade Raimi to use his influence to get McAdams as the lead in a future Evil Dead film. Because, on the evidence of this movie, that would be frickin’ awesome!