Send Help (2026) Review

Send Help (2026) Review

A woman and her overbearing boss become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. They must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.

thecinemacritic

February 4, 2026

1–2 minutes

Time: 115 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Violence, cruelty, offensive language & content that may disturb
Cast:
Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle
Dylan O’Brien as Bradley Preston
Edyll Ismail as Zuri
Xavier Samuel as Donovan
Chris Pang as Chase
Dennis Haysbert as Franklin
Director: Sam Raimi

Send Help was one of my most anticipated movies of 2026. Sam Raimi is returning to the horror genre with this survival thriller, which would also star Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. I had a really good time with this.

Send Help is a cleverly written survival thriller which really kicks into high gear at the act 1 plane crash. It’s never predictable with plenty of twists and is very energetic and constantly entertaining, especially with its dark comedy throughout. It is goofy, insane and unhinged in the way you can expect from a Sam Raimi horror movie, and particularly goes all out in its third act.

Rachel McAdams delivers one of her best performances, she’s so committed and is perfectly in sync with Raimi’s insanity. Dylan O’Brien also matches her beat for beat, nailing the comedic beats and the physicality. McAdams and O’Brien are great together, much of the tension of the movie is built on the power dynamic between their characters, and they play off each other so well.

It has been a while since Sam Raimi has directed a full on horror movie and it’s a welcome return to the genre for him. It has so much of Raimi’s stylistic aspects; the camerawork is kinetic with plenty of close ups, tracking shots, and zooms and the editing is fast and creative. And of course, there’s plenty of over the top violence and gore, buckets of blood and vomit, it is appropriately gnarly and I really liked the practical effects and makeup. There is some dodgy CGI, but I think it worked fine for this movie and its style and tone. The score also works quite well, eccentric and high energy.

Send Help is an incredibly entertaining, dark comic, wonderfully absurd, and stylistically directed survivor thriller with top notch performances from Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien.