Verdict
Summary
Send Help is a darkly comic horror adventure that blends workplace misery with cathartic thrills – a predictable, yet thoroughly entertaining watch.
Plot: When two colleagues become the sole survivors of a plane crash, they must put their massive differences aside in order to survive.
Review: Sam Raimi’s latest film, Send Help, is a darkly comic adventure that balances workplace misery with bursts of horror – delivering a story that is equal parts entertaining and oddly cathartic.
Rachel McAdams is spectacular as Linda, a hard-working corporate employee who is constantly stepped on by her younger, brutal boss Bradley Preston, played by Dylan O’Brien. Their hostile dynamic becomes the focus – and the film’s greatest strengths – as they go from enemies to reluctant allies, forced to work together to survive.
Raimi expertly teeters between comedy and horror, blending both mediums in a way that feels effortless and wildly fun to watch. Those who have been eagerly awaiting his return to his Evil Dead roots will certainly get a satisfying throwback to that gruesome chaos.
While there are moments that are flinchingly gory, the movie is arguably tame compared to his previous horror stints. The plot is fairly predictable, and there are stretches where the pacing feels slow; however, the film certainly makes up for it by delivering consistently satisfying scenes. From the start, there’s no question who we’re rooting for – Linda, a demoralised corporate worker endlessly exploited by upper management. We’re instantly waiting for her comeuppance, and when it finally arrives, it’s every bit as good and hilarious as hoped.
Send Help releases in theatres this Friday, January 30th.