Sam Raimi has built such an incredible career that many people that were born during the last 35 years primarily associate him with superhero movies. As ridiculous or blasphemous as that will sound to the hardcore Rami afficionados out there, take a moment to consider that 2009's Drag Me to Hell is the only proper horror movie he's made this century and his last entry in the Evil Dead franchise (Army of Darkness) turns 33 years old later this month. After ending his nearly decade-long reprieve from directing features following the shaky commercial performance/reception of Oz The Great and Powerful to helm Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022, Raimi has finally returned to his comedy horror roots with Send Help and provided the uninitiated with a taste of the signature style that made him a cult hero in genre circles back in the 80's.
In the opening moments of Send Help, the viewer is introduced to Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams). Linda is a meek fuddy duddy who works in the strategy and planning department of an unnamed major financial management corporation and after years of grinding away in the shadows without ever receiving any meaningful acknowledgement for her hard work, appears set to receive a promotion to vice president once the new CEO Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien) officially takes over for his late father (Bruce Campbell, who appears strictly via photographic cameos). On his first day on the job, Bradley quickly becomes repulsed by Linda's pathetic "bird lady" demeanor and hands the promotion to his golfing buddy Donovan (Xavier Samuel) instead despite him being considerably less experienced than Linda. During the same meeting, Bradley informs Linda that he doesn't believe she provides much value to their operation and challenges her to prove her worth to him by traveling with the company to Bangkok for a meeting about a prospective merger.
A week later, the company's private plane crashes somewhere in the vicinity of Thailand and the sole survivors of the wreck are Linda and Bradley. While Linda made it to the shore of an unoccupied island pretty much unscathed, Bradley sustained wounds and injuries to his legs that were severe enough to render him unable to walk without assistance. Relying on Linda-who has honed a wide set of survival skills thanks to her desire to compete on Survivor-to survive, Bradley has to discount all of his instincts telling him to boss Linda around as she is quite literally the only reason he's still alive after losing consciousness following the crash and having the tide carry him to the beach that Linda was able to swim to. As Bradley regains his strength, a vicious power struggle ensues between the two that threatens to kill them both before they even have a chance to be rescued.
Raimi really couldn't have picked a more ideal project to make his return to horror/thrillers on than Send Help. While I'm sure he considered taking on other projects, veteran screenwriting duo Damien Shannon and Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason, the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th) handed him such a rich canvas to work his sicko magic on that it's easy to see why he dove headfirst into this opportunity. The constant evolution of the dynamic between Linda and Bradley and the twists that help shift them are so quintessentially Raimi that it's kind of hard to believe that he didn't write the film himself. There's such a perverse, playful glee behind every creative choice in this film and it all culminates in a twisted conclusion that had me cackling in my seat as the credits began to roll. Raimi had been away from the genre for so long that there was inevitably going to be questions about whether or he could still deliver the goods, so it was a huge relief to discover that the maestro of deranged horror comedies has retained his ability to conduct the hell out of his orchestra at the age of 66.
As delightful as it is to see Rami deploy his bag of tricks again, the top highlight of Send Help is watching McAdams and O'Brien spar with each other. This is the kind of showcase that these two versatile, magnetic and perpetually underrated talents have deserved for ages. The funhouse environment that Raimi famously creates on his sets paired with the nature of the story grants them the freedom to truly play as actors and the two of them settle into such a finely tuned rhythm of manipulation, combativeness and sassiness as their characters go to great lengths to fight for control of their little of horrific island paradise that is just magic to watch. Having a movie that almost entirely hinges on the shoulders of two actors being able to portray a constantly shifting power dynamic is a risky bet, but when those actors are as locked into their own performances and getting on the same page as their scene partner as the lead duo of Send Help is, that gamble pays off big time.
Send Help is one hell of a way to cap off by far the strongest January for cinema that we've had this decade. If you have any interest in seeing this, I urge to you check it out in theaters ASAP. It's a movie that really pops with a crowd and original stories like this really need support during this era where studios are often hesitant to greenlit things that aren't established IP.
Grade: B+
