If there is one thing that you can guarantee with a Sam Raimi film, it’s that it’s going to be tons of fun. The director of The Evil Dead know what an audience wants when going to the cinema. Something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, some interesting visuals and a film that zips along and leaves its viewers totally satisfied. His latest film, Send Help, delivers just that: a film bursting with originality, even if its subject matter is well-worn, and for the whole running time is an absolute blast.

Linda Liddle is a mousey office worker who almost single-handedly runs the company made up by the boy’s club. Passed over for promotion by the new CEO, Bradley Preston, he takes her to a special meeting in Thailand because she is the only person who can understand the job. The private plane they are travelling in crashes, leaving the pair stranded on a desert island. Linda, a fan of Survivor, takes the skills she has watched and puts them to good use, and the shift of power begins.

There is only so much you can do with a desert island movie. Yet Raimi pushes it to the boundaries with a tale that is more than just survival, but how a woman who is looked upon as disgusting by the cocky new CEO, turns everything on its head and shows just how useless he is, never going to be able to survive in any situation, whether it be work or on an island.

This battle of the sexes is played out with plenty of energy, and considering the majority of the movie is just the two lead characters, it never gets boring, as Raimi throws in new plot strands and new dangers to face. Whether it be storms, trying to find food and coming face-to-face with a wild boar (in one of the funniest and bloodiest scenes), Raimi keeps ramping up the tension as the pair bicker, make friends, and, in the final act, go full-on brutal.

Yet the whole thing is done with a tongue rammed into the cheek. Raimi’s dark humour is in full view, along with nice nods to his most notorious film, The Evil Dead, and its sequel, Army of Darkness, where Ash has to fend for himself in a very different environment. And while this is mainly a two-hander, there is a very brief appearance from his stalwart star, Bruce Campbell, but you will have to look very closely to catch him.

Trying to pigeonhole what genre this film falls into is almost impossible. It has elements of horror, moments of psychological thrills, is often darkly comic, and is a full-on adventure. This is what makes Raimi such a unique director and this would work well as a companion piece to his underrated horror, Drag Her To Hell, s both deal with strong female leads.

The task of carrying this film falls on the shoulders of Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, and they both deliver. O’Brien, known for The Maze Runner movies, is playing completely against type here, and he is superb. A nasty, egomaniac who thinks he is the best thing on earth, you immediately hate the way he uses his power for his own aims and belittles Linda. Once on the island, his inadequacies begin to show, and there are moments he does turn it around, but you know he’s up to something. It’s a really great way for an actor to show his range.

Speaking of range, McAdams is having the time of her life, while at the same time giving everything she has as Linda. Having worked with Raimi in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, she has been let off the leash and gives us a memorable performance that is part introvert, part calming effect, and part total psycho. She is funny, surprising and absolutely brutal. If you thought Regina George from Mean Girls was nasty, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Send Help is a blast. Funny, exciting, bloody and just bundles of fun. If you can handle a little gore and plenty of surprises, then this is for you. In a season of award fodder, it’s the perfect escape from the heavy, emotional pictures around for a crowd-pleasing romp. I loved it.

4 out of 5

Director: Sam Raimi

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi, Kristy Best

Written by: Damien Shannon and Mark Swift

Running Time: 113 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 5th February 2026