The latest film from Sam Raimi is a back to basics horror reuniting him with Multiverse of Madness star Rachel McAdams.
MERCY (2026)
★★★ OF ★★★★★ stars
One of the things that really stuck out to me watching Sam Raimi’s excursion into the MCU in DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS was how game Rachel McAdams was in fighting ghouls in an interdimensional haunted house; echoing scenes you’d see in an Army of Darkness or Evil Dead film. Clearly, she impressed Raimi and the two are reteaming here in Raimi’s first original IP horror film in years with SEND HELP, which hits theaters on Janaury 30th. McAdams certainly impresses here, playing Linda Liddle, a worn-down but loyal employee who dreams of a promotion and a bigger apartment as there is a change in leadership at her work following the death of her boss (a blink and you’ll miss it Bruce Campbell pseudo-cameo). His son, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien) has different ideas and wants to promote his frat cronie in her place, whose work has largely been stolen from Linda. Linda, who aspires to be on the television show Survivor and has dreams of being noticed and not taken for granted, just wants to fit in and be apart of the team that is valued. That doesn’t work out for her, as Bradley has her tag along for a corporate merger meeting in Thailand just to use her brain to solve a dilema. But on the flight, Donovan and Bradley and other company employees find her Survivor application video and mock her relentlessly,; leading her to drop her proposal to fix the merger issue as the plane drops altitude. The plane crashes, taking out everyone on a remote Thai island; except for Linda and Bradley, who clash even as she saves his life and they struggle to survive. That is, until Linda spots a boat on her travels through the island. Are they saved or is something else afoot.
On its face, SEND HELP has shades of MISERY meets GILLIGAN’S ISLAND. Linda, pushed to her breaking point with disrespect, has a chance to excel in her environment as she uses her survival knowledge to nurse Bradley back to help and provide for herself and live her SURVIVOR dream and come into her own out of her mousey shell. But Bradley is also self-serving and selfish and uses the knowledge he’s picked up from Linda to try and save himself at her expense. Both are shades of grey characters and seeing their Looney Tunes-esque attempts to one-up each other lend themselves to the comedy horror element. Linda is a more devious character than we get at first glance and the film has lots of twists and turns which keep the audience on the edge of their seats throughout. McAdams revels in the role and the film takes her character on a journey with a satisfying climax for her journey.
It’s Raimi’s tropes that really shine here. Lots of complex shots and fight scenes that revel in the body horror elements that fans of Ash in Evil Dead will love. There’s more CGI than I would like, especially in the island surrounds and a fight with a wild boar. These are all accented with fun practical blood and effects to give you that viscera you’ve come to expect from Raimi.
Ultimately, SEND HELP is a fun throwback horror. Raimi throws in some zombie and Deadite imagery in ways that fit the realism of the film, but its a straightforward horror with psychological elements. Some good “will they / won’t they” deconstruction of how scenarios like these can lead to romantic scenarios in a rom/com genre subversion. But SEND HELP is a lot of fun and a good horror movie to kick off 20th Century Studios’ slate of films for the year.
SEND HELP hits theaters on January 30th
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