January used to be where studios tossed the stuff they did not want to deal with — see 2005's 'Alone in the Dark' (Tara Reid as a scientist, truly) and 2009's 'Bride Wars,' which made Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson face off in a comedy with approximately zero actual jokes. Then 2026 rolled in and Sam Raimi dropped 'Send Help,' a survival- thriller comedy that, against all odds, actually rules.
Quick hits
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien
- What it is: A sharp survival-thriller comedy (yes, with some Raimi-flavored weirdness — the undead make an appearance)
- Box office: Almost $100 million worldwide
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93% critics score; it delivers the thrills and laughs the trailer sold
- Streaming: May 7 on Hulu and Disney+
What it is actually about
Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, a timid corporate strategist whose nightmare business trip turns into a literal survival test when her plane goes down. She and her new boss — Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien), a swaggering alpha who likes to be in charge — somehow walk away from the wreckage and wind up alone on a deserted island in Thailand, with no help headed their way.
The catch: their office power struggle does not stay in the office. Bradley refuses to answer to anyone, least of all Linda. Linda, suddenly very good at calling the shots, is not eager to hand them back — even when a real rescue starts to look possible. It turns into a battle of brains and stubbornness, where staying alive might depend on who can outmaneuver the other.
Is it worth watching?
Short answer: yes. Longer answer: this is Raimi getting his groove back. The guy who gave us those early, gonzo 'Evil Dead' films brings that gleefully grisly streak to a castaway story, and somehow it works — including a wild detour into the undead. The plane-crash set piece is both nerve-jangling and genuinely funny. Buckle your seatbelt.
The leads make it sing
Dylan O'Brien has been on a nice run as a shapeshifting character actor, and Bradley Preston lets him do the 'hero, villain, and the messy middle' thing in one package. He starts as a toxic nepo baby and quickly learns that nature does not care who your dad is or what your bank balance looks like — and O'Brien sells the comeuppance without sanding off the edges.
As for Rachel McAdams: not exactly a revelation that she is great, but she is in top form here. From clawing her way out of a sinking fuselage to trying (against reason and better judgment) to romance her utterly out-of-his-depth boss, she keeps peeling back layers until Linda feels like one of the most compelling — and flat-out formidable — heroines we have right now.
Bottom line
If you missed 'Send Help' in theaters, you will not have to wait long. It hits Hulu and Disney+ on May 7. For a month that used to be synonymous with cinematic landfill, this one was a legit bright spot.