⭐⭐⭐✨
I had a lot of fun with this, even if it doesn’t always hold together perfectly. A survival thriller directed by Sam Raimi starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan o’Brien? Say less! It’s chaotic, a little unhinged, and very aware of that fact.
Synopsis:
After a plane crash leaves them stranded on a deserted island, corporate strategist Linda and her toxic boss Bradley are forced to work together to survive. But as resources dwindle and tensions rise, their professional dynamic quickly turns into a dangerous power struggle, where survival becomes less about the environment and more about who can outmaneuver the other.
What works:
🏝Rachel McAdams absolutely carries this movie. The Canadian actress brings to much nuance to Linda and watching her shift from overlooked employee to someone far more calculating and unpredictable is easily the best part. Dylan O’Brien is equally great as Bradley. He leans fully into the character’s arrogance and unpredictability, making him both infuriating and weirdly entertaining to watch. There’s a chaotic energy to his performance that plays perfectly off McAdams and together their dynamic is what really drives the film. Their back-and-forth feels tense, toxic, and at times darkly funny, which keeps you hooked even when the plot wobbles.
🏝The tone is wild in a way that mostly works; it leans into dark comedy, horror, and thriller elements all at once, and somehow manages to keep things entertaining.
🏝There are genuinely tense moments, especially when the power dynamic flips and you’re no longer sure who to root for.
🏝It’s very Sam Raimi 😍 Fast-paced, a bit gross, a bit funny, and not afraid to get weird.
What doesn’t work:
✈The tonal shifts can be messy. It doesn’t always know if it wants to be a serious survival story or a chaotic horror-comedy, and sometimes those elements clash I feel.
✈The pacing dips in the middle, where it feels like it’s circling the same conflict without pushing things forward.
✈Some character decisions stretch believability, especially as things escalate. You kind of just have to go with it.
Final thoughts:
Send Help is messy, mean, and a little ridiculous, but also undeniably entertaining. It doesn’t fully stick the landing, but the ride is weird enough to make it worth it.
Chante JVR 
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