Send Help Review

 

Send Help tells the story of unappreciated and survivor-obsessed worker bee Linda Liddle (played by Rachel McAdams) and her new arrogant CEO Bradley (played by Dylan O’Brien), who must fight to survive when they’re stranded on a desert island after a plane crash, but not against the elements, but against each other.

The biggest standout in this movie for me is Rachel McAdams's performance. The way she’s able to play this very shy and dowdy secretary and then transform into this super confident survivalist who gets pretty sadistic and intense but never loses that friendly coworker attitude is really fun to watch, and McAdams is able to flow between the two in a very natural and really fun way to watch as she gets more confident throughout the film. At some point, you’re rooting for her, and at other points, you’re mad at her. Definitely one of my new favorite performances from her.

Dylan O’Brien is also very good at playing a very full, almost frat bro-like CEO. I do wish his character was a little bit more fleshed out like Adam’s, but there are several moments throughout where you see different sides of Bradley and have different emotions throughout. I just thought for me there could have been a little more of them, but again, O’Brien is very entertaining at playing this cocky idiot who you enjoy seeing taken down a peg every once in a while.

Ironically, for a movie that for 85% of its runtime takes place in one location, this movie is very stunning. Obviously, they filmed on actual beaches, and all the different tropical locations look very peaceful and stunning and are a good contrast to the characters' emotional journey of becoming more erratic and stir crazy.

The film, for the most part, has a very dark sense of humor, which I’m always down for, but there are a couple of scenes, particularly one between the two characters during a campfire, that I thought really added an interesting character, a wrinkle to both characters, and both actors really get to shine and give strong and enjoyable performances.

The directing is fantastic; Sam Raimi gets to go full Sam Raimi, and I’m always down for that. He does a lot of wild, intense camera movement and a lot of interesting, creative shots, while dripping just a little bit of horror in there. Not to mention some pretty creative, spectacular gore scenes, like there’s one scene during the plane crash that is both disturbing and hilarious at the same time lol.

The CGI, for the most part, is pretty good, like some things do look a little cartoonish, but the design and situation they’re in kind of make it work within the scene as a creative style decision.

I think gore hounds will be satisfied with the effects in this movie; again, there are some CGI parts that I know are not everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s enough blood and bonkers action to keep any horror fan happy.

I also like to have the film overall unfold the story, like certain bits of information aren’t shown and then saved for later to reveal other stuff, and I thought that was pretty creative.

I do have a recommendation if you do plan on seeing this movie. You have to see it in the theater with a pretty big and lively crowd; that’s the best way to enjoy it, like I did. People were laughing and cheering throughout, and there was one scene where you could just feel everyone’s sphincter just tighten with suspense… Good times, lol.

Danny Elfman did the music and did a solid job throughout.

Ironically, for a film where the characters wear pretty much the same outfit throughout, I was impressed with how the costume department was able to change up the outfit with different layers and styles throughout; it was a nice subtle detail.

There are a couple of twists here and there throughout the story that I thought were pretty well integrated and had some nice payoffs.

I wasn’t satisfied with the very end; like, it was OK, but I was hoping for a stronger ending, but it kind of felt like they filmed multiple endings, and this one tested best with audiences. Again, it’s not bad, but I was just hoping for more.

For you Sam Raimi fans out there, yes, there is a Bruce Campbell and Sam’s old station wagon cameo in the film, and I spotted them both; they were very nice.

I also got to see the movie with my pals, which always adds to a movie's enjoyment.

Send Help is a very enjoyable, straightforward dark comedy thriller, with incredible and entertaining performances by the main cast and a beautiful location that really adds something special to this film. I give it somewhere between three stars and a low four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It isn’t anything mind-blowing, but it is a really fun time at the movies.