SEND HELP (2026)
Time for a double helping of people surviving dire situations and overcoming certain doom. In the case of Send Help the ideal version of this story was already told in Hell in the Pacific; pitting an unlikely duo stranded on an island against each other. However, this is also the return of Sam Raimi who hasn't directed anything fun for very a long time. The couple of misfires after 2009's Drag Me To Hell don't really count and perhaps he agrees; teaming up with Rachel McAdams from Doctor Strange and giving her something more interesting to do. Let's see if it works and whether the old Evil Dead magic is still present and correct...
Sam Raimi wasn't involved in writing this (with his brother Ivan) which does seem like a problem initially. The undercooked plot of Multiverse of Madness left a lot to be desired after all. Fortunately this is a straightforward, if sometimes formulaic, affair. Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is an awkward but talented office worker, she's got a lack of people skills but is good at what she does. Her old boss (a blink and you'll miss it cameo from a familiar face) has passed away leaving the promotion decisions to his son Bradley (Dylan O'Brien) who is clearly here because of the family ties and not his brain power.
Subsequently the raise she was expecting goes to someone else, another clueless guy Bradley likes to golf with, against the advice of a senior colleague. It's all pretty boiler-plate stuff and soon a despairing Linda is on route to help with a deal in Bangkok after being promised another chance Bradley will never provide. But when the plane (full of his annoying college buddies) hits some bumpy weather you don't have to be a strategy expert to see what's going to happen next. The opening may be a bit inconsistent but things get going when the turbulence arrives.
It's not exactly a serious affair before this (Linda's name sounds like something from Spider-Man and maybe this is her origin story) but the tone is firmly established as mayhem ensues and the plane crashes. Which means that when Linda's reality TV interests collide with her need to forage on a desert island it's easier to get on board with. Soon she's transformed from a pale, uncharismatic, tuna eating planning executive into a bronzed survival master. Even her hair seems to become more luxurious during a scene where she finds a waterfall and starts building a camp.
Bradley of course is a useless wretch, used to having everything done for him, and battle of wits begins between two people with zero respect for one another. But since he's injured during the crash the roles are swapped and various survival sequences show that nepotism won't help him out in the wilderness. He's also a pretty cartoon-like figure, again keeping with the tone, perhaps Bruce Campbell-lite but still entertaining. There's plenty of old-school misery in story for the guy as he tries finding food and trying to escape, without much success.
The results occasionally veer into Sam Raimi's old wheelhouse so of course there's a lot of flowing blood and guts, some vomiting, an occasional 'spooky point of view' shot, and some slapstick action. The visual effects depicting parts of the island and some of the wildlife aren't great, proving that some issues from 2009 are still present. But it's got plenty for old fans to get into and enough general crowd pleasing moments along the way. Danny Elfman's score is serviceable if not distinctive, adding to the overall tropical island crisis vibe.
The real surprise is that it stops for breath in a few places to allow characterisation and sympathy to be explored. The ridiculous moments in the third act might undermine some of this but it's nice to see that neither character is entirely one-dimensional. The end results aren't exactly what you'd call a horror movie and they're not entirely original either. But this is a likeable romp that deftly jumps from splatter effects and ego battles, balancing the grotesque and relatable moments with ease. If they could just include practical effects it might be perfect.
4/5
BONUS REVIEW
PROJECT HAIL MARY (2026)
Meanwhile, with a different Sam Raimi connection Young Hercules himself Ryan Gosling discovers that he's stranded alone on a spaceship. Ryland Grace is an amnesiac school teacher, and professor, who finds that he's the only survivor of a mission to a distant star, and has to put the pieces together to remember why he's there. Again this is nothing new and the story of trying to prevent stars dying, or waking suddenly from suspended animation, is familiar ground for sci-fi cinema. It also covers ground from The Martian (the previous adaptation of the same author's work) both in plot and tone.
However, there are some advantages this film has over that prior space adventure. The first is that the star and the directing duo (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) are a much better fit for the material. (Minor spoilers follow). The second is that the main character discovers he's not alone and must figure out ways to work with an alien intelligence. Which means that there's a stronger emotional core to a story that could be bogged down by technical jargon. It sometimes feels contrived that he is able to engineer solutions and communicate so quickly with an unknown entity. But a light touch and a lot of heart mean these elements are less of a problem.
It's all pretty absurd, despite flashbacks to very serious problems on planet Earth, but there's a charm and warmth to the story that could be too jokey or too overblown. As a simple popcorn movie there's plenty to like and it looks great with a lot of beautiful CGI married with great spaceship sets. The script and the characterisation could be annoying in the wrong hands but it's the right mixture of corny and personal. Occasionally it stumble by being way too long or having ridiculous action (particularly in a spacewalk) where things work out with perfect timing. But overall it's a good time in the empty void of the galaxy.
4/5
