You gotta love it when a movie convinces you that you know exactly what’s happening and where things are headed, only to keep flipping the switch over and over and over again. This is precisely the kind of experience Send Help delivers: a relentless thrill ride that pulls you in instantly and never lets up.
It follows Linda, a star employee who is long overdue for a climb up the corporate ladder. However, a workplace oozing with toxic machismo led by Bradley (her company’s new golden boy) is hindering her from achieving just that. In the wake of a freak plane crash that wipes out their colleagues, the two are left stranded on a remote island with seemingly no way out.
Send Help starts as a sharp office comedy that pivots into a game of survival before finally transforming into a deranged and cerebral battle of wits set in a picturesque paradise.
The cast is what makes this a bona fide hit. Rachel McAdams is brilliant as the socially awkward but lightning-fast Linda, a character so unassuming and unpredictable, you never see her coming. Opposite her, Dylan O’Brien plays the quintessential douchebag boss; he’s got a perfectly punchable face and embodies that stereotypical ‘toxic male’ energy with zero redeeming qualities.
Their chemistry is so good that you find yourself torn: one minute you’re hoping they’ll actually co-exist to settle their differences, and the next you’re just dying to see who’s going to outwit, outplay, and outlast the other.
A powerful testament to director Sam Raimi’s craft, his latest outing further solidifies how unstoppable he is in his element. It’s delightfully demented and, at times, grotesque in true Raimi fashion.
At its core, Send Help is a deceptive film that excels by pairing relatable corporate dread with Raimi’s trademark horror and a plot twist that is absolutely mind-melting. Just two hours of pure, unbridled cinematic mayhem!
Clock in and don’t miss out on Send Help, now playing in Philippine cinemas. Big thanks to 20th Century Studios and SM Cinema for the screening invite!
