Name: Send Help
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Psychological
Released: 2026-01-30
Rating: 8.5
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien, Chris Pang, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel

A darkly comic thriller about a group of stranded survivors who broadcast a fake distress signal to escape an isolated island, only to attract something far more dangerous than they expected.

Send Help

Times of India

Firstpost

If marooned on an island with just one person, whom would you choose? For Linda, her insufferable boss Bradley is not that person, and vice versa. The oddball hard worker is dragged into this situation while on a trip to Bangkok for a merger, hoping to finally prove her worth to her employer, despite having spent seven years crunching numbers and being promised the vice president’s position. However, her dreams, and the plane, come crashing down soon enough. What follows is the tables turning and making way for a sinister ‘eat the rich’ scenario in the name of survival.
Director Sam Raimi returns to the genre after 17 years (since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell), and delivers a savage, wickedly entertaining fare. Written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the horror-comedy is not merely a survival drama. Amid starting fires, building camps, hunting wild boar, eating insects, and avoiding poisonous berries, it becomes a story of retribution and the revelation of one’s true self in a life-and-death situation. How the duo survives the harsh elements (and each other) keeps the film engaging throughout. It may not be a horror outing in the strictest sense, but it evokes enough chills, and the bloodbath, gouged eyes, and psychological gameplay together deliver a visceral experience. Adding to the thrill are the constant surprises and plot twists.
The narrative’s biggest highlight is the shift in power dynamics, making it an astute character study. The two are different, yet the same. Linda is a frumpy, awkward working-class woman obsessed with Survivor, while Bradley is the entitled, arrogant boss, but both clearly get off on power. Bradley’s arrogance persists even when he is at Linda’s mercy, while the underdog’s power trip once she gains the upper hand makes for a compelling watch. The characterisations are handled with such finesse that it becomes impossible to empathise more with one over the other. The viewer’s sympathy keeps shifting, only to be undone again as both Linda and Bradley reveal just how sinister they can be when survival is at stake. This is skilfully portrayed by Rachael McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, who take turns being vile, clownish, desperate, and pitiful. Both thrive in the film’s dark comedy and thriller beats, ensuring it ends on a satisfyingly vicious note. The actors do complete justice to the character arc. Watch out for McAdams when she hunts the wild boar, and for O’Brien when he eats an insect—both acts of survival, yet revealing starkly different instincts and power equations at play.
With its sharp writing, relentless tension, and deliciously twisted power play, the savagery is best experienced on the big screen. And even if “no one is coming,” make it a solo trip to the theatre. This one is worth it!

Well, the title might feel like a situation most of us find ourselves in quite often, but when Send Help comes stamped with Sam Raimi’s name, you know you’re in for a good time. The Evil Dead director returns to his roots after helming big Marvel spectacles (Spider-Man trilogy and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), and honestly, the wait feels worth it. Especially because this time, he brings Rachel McAdams in an avatar you would never see coming.
Send Help begins in the most mundane way possible. Enter Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) from Planning and Strategy, not accounting, mind you. She’s excellent with numbers, solves complex problems in seconds, and is the kind of devoted corporate employee we all recognise. She isn’t particularly “presentable”, sometimes with tuna sandwich filling embarrassingly visible, but she works hard. And like every hardworking corporate employee, someone else happily takes credit for her work.
Forgive the anime reference, but the narrative shift here feels like an Infinity Castle moment, where the world flips upside down with a biwa note (in a heartbeat for non-geeks). On a business trip to Thailand, while Preston and his locker-room bros mock Linda’s Survivor audition tape, the plane crashes. And just like that, it’s only Linda and her boss who wash ashore.
What follows is chaos, survival, and something far more unhinged.

Survival drama, but make it Raimi
Yes, Send Help is a survival drama. But is it just a survival drama? Hell, no.

Rachel McAdams sheds Linda’s skin faster than you can process it. She shifts into full survival mode, nursing her boss back to health, building makeshift shelters, starting fires, catching fish and even hunting a wild pig. It’s wild. And while your rational brain might protest, Raimi ensures a willing suspension of disbelief. You root for Linda, marvel at her, gasp with her, and go wherever the film takes you.

What begins as survival soon morphs into a psychological game of wits. Masks fall, intentions shift, and the island becomes a battleground of manipulation, desperation and dark humour. The head-on clash that follows is deliciously uncomfortable, unexpectedly funny, and frequently wince-inducing.

Rachel McAdams, unleashed
What makes this survival thriller, which leans more comic than horror, truly delectable is Rachel McAdams’ performance. This is one of her finest turns. She plays Linda as meek, overlooked and quietly competent, before transforming into something close to a force of nature. The beauty lies in how organic the transition feels. There are no jolts, no theatrics, just a gradual, terrifying evolution.

Send Help | Official Trailer | In Theaters Jan 30

Send Help | Official Trailer | In Cinemas Soon

Rachel McAdams

Best known for playing the lead character in the Maze Runner film series and the television teen-drama Teen Wolf, Dylan O'Brien is an American actor and director. Before making it big on TV, O’Brien has starred in several short films released through his personal YouTube channel. Some of his other notable works include American Assassin, Deepwater Horizon and The Internship.

Dylan O'Brien

Chris Pang is an Australian actor best known for films like Tomorrow, When the War Began, The Mule, Superfast! and Crazy Rich Asians.

Send Help(2026)