'Send Help' [REVIEW]: Sam Raimi Proves He Still Has the Edge

Written By: Klep Napier | Wearecritix.com

Sam Raimi is headed back to theaters with another thriller, and if Send Help proves anything, it’s that the master of dark humor and nerve-shredding tension hasn’t lost a single step.

Directed by Raimi and starring Rachel McAdams alongside Dylan O’Brien, Send Help strands its characters on a secluded island and uses that isolation as fuel for something far creepier, stranger, and more emotionally grounded than I was expecting. This is not just a survival thriller. It’s a character-driven descent that thrives on discomfort, uncertainty, and human vulnerability. Before getting into my thoughts, let’s talk about the premise without giving anything away.

Rachel McAdams plays an executive assistant working inside a powerful corporate machine. Dylan O’Brien’s character, on the other hand, is a full-blown nepo baby, handed control and more concerned with elevating his inner circle than rewarding actual competence. When McAdams’ character is invited on a business trip with him and other executives, things take a sharp turn. A plane crash leaves them stranded on a remote island, and suddenly, the power dynamics flip. She becomes the only person capable of surviving the environment they’ve been thrown into.

From there, Send Help becomes something much more layered than its trailer lets on.

Walking out of the theater, I called this film a ride that delivers dark humor, terror, and tension from every direction, and I stand firmly by that. Sam Raimi once again shows that he understands how to balance fear and entertainment. He knows when to make you laugh uncomfortably, when to make you squirm, and when to pull back just enough to let the tension breathe. But the real anchor here is Rachel McAdams.

She absolutely carries this film. What struck me most wasn’t the horror elements or the shock moments, but the emotional journey. Raimi and the script do an excellent job humanizing her character, dropping us directly into her headspace. You understand who she is, why she survives, and how her isolation has quietly shaped her strength long before the crash ever happens.

There’s a theme here that hit me hard: never underestimate the loneliest person in the room. There’s power in being overlooked. There’s strength in being the odd one out. Send Help leans into that idea without spelling it out, and it’s one of the reasons the film feels so tangible and earned.

[WATCH OUR IN-DEPTH BREAKDOWN ON YOUTUBE]

What really impressed me is how easily this film could have gone wrong. It could’ve leaned too hard into camp. It could’ve relied on jump scares, gore, or shock value alone. Instead, it chooses restraint. There’s a lot of gray area here. You’re constantly questioning who to root for, whether you should be cheering at all, and what survival actually costs. That uncertainty is where the film thrives.

Every scene feels like it’s pulling you in a different emotional direction, blending terror, tension, and Raimi’s signature dark humor into something that feels fresh while still unmistakably his. If you’re a fan of the horror-thriller genre or Sam Raimi’s work in general, this is a must-watch. Once again, he proves he hasn’t lost his edge in the slightest.

Send Help is a smart, unsettling, and emotionally grounded addition to the genre, elevated by a powerhouse performance from Rachel McAdams and a director who still knows exactly how to keep an audience locked in.

Send Help opens exclusively in theaters on January 30.