Send Help (2026) is directed by Sam Raimi, featuring a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It stars Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Dennis Haysbert, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi, Kristy Best, and Francesca Waters. The film follows Linda Liddle (McAdams), a longtime employee of a large corporation whose new a-hole boss, Bradley (O’Brien), passes her over for a promotion she was promised and clearly deserves. Although he secretly plans to fire her after she helps close one last deal, Bradley invites Linda on an international business trip, claiming she might be able to change his mind. Just as Linda realizes what’s really going on, the plane crashes in the Gulf of Thailand, leaving her and an injured Bradley as the only two survivors. Now stranded on a deserted island, Linda’s survival skills quickly flip their power dynamic. Will this cause Bradley to see the error of his ways, or will Linda’s newfound position prove that power always corrupts? 

Raimi’s signature elements of camp allow McAdams and O’Brien to get a little weird and wild with their characters/performances, and it works beautifully. Whether it’s O’Brien’s cartoonishly annoying laugh or McAdams’s zany descent into jealous insanity, Raimi knows how to keep the tone feeling self-aware and goofy in a way that never diminishes the equally important horror elements. The humor keeps things from ever becoming outright scary, instead making the film feel more like an exciting thriller. It’s the kind of tone Raimi has made a career from, but this proves he still has a lot of juice left in the tank. His darkly comedic sensibilities have aged like fine wine, confirming that all he needs is a decent premise, a couple of skilled actors, and a serviceable script. He injects flair into scenes that would otherwise be completely generic and should receive most of the credit for why the film is so entertaining. McAdams and O’Brien are fantastic, but Raimi is the star of the show.

The tone here reminds me of a film like Never Let Go (2024), the only difference being that its campy elements feel intentional and thus work a lot better. Although the film deals with a lot of serious, scary subject matter, Raimi uses a variety of goofy elements that keep us from taking it too seriously, maximizing the fun by reassuring the audience that it’s okay to laugh at everything going down. If you can take this seriously, it works as a straightforward thriller, but if you can’t, it works equally well as a pitch-black dark comedy. 

The script also does a great job of constantly shifting our opinion of the two characters as the story rolls along. By the end, it’s tough to decide who’s the bad guy here, the only certainty being that having too much power will ultimately reveal an individual’s worst tendencies. However, it thankfully doesn’t use this as an excuse to avoid choosing sides, resulting in an ending that is thematically thought-provoking but also satisfying as a more straightforward, definitive conclusion for those who don’t wish to analyze it too deeply.  

Overall, this is a wildly entertaining survival thriller featuring an irresistible central hook that director Sam Raimi explores with his signature blend of bloody horror and campy humor. When you add the two memorably wild lead performances to the equation, you get a film that’s hard not to enjoy. It’s pretty much the best, most accurate version of what the trailer sold, and that alone deserves praise in 2026. Don’t send help, send us more original films like this, whether they’re perfect or not. B