'Send Help' Review: McAdams and O'Brien are Stranded, Sarcastic, and Trying to Survive
- Romey Norton
- 36 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - February 9, 2026
Film
When I first heard about Send Help, I assumed I was signing up for a standard survival comedy: a plane crash, a deserted island, a few awkward laughs, and maybe some mild peril. What I got instead was a full-blown rollercoaster of absurdity, tension, and scenes not for the squeamish. Send Help is a film that somehow manages to be both chaotic and sharp, ridiculous and surprisingly insightful, all at the same time.
Directed by Sam Raimi, the film wastes no time dropping us into the middle of the chaos. Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, a highly competent but chronically undervalued office worker. Dylan O’Brien is her new boss, Bradley Preston, whose confidence teeters somewhere between charmingly misguided and obnoxiously entitled. When a plane crash strands them together on a deserted island, the real survival challenge isn’t just finding food and shelter, it’s surviving each other.
From the first scene, Raimi establishes his tone with reckless energy. One second, you’re cringing at a piece of tuna on the face, the next you’re laughing at Bradley’s awkward over the top laughing. Raimi doesn’t just show us a survival scenario; he throws us into the emotional chaos of being stuck in close quarters with someone you can’t stand, and can’t escape.
Rachel McAdams is phenomenal in the role. She balances sarcasm, intelligence, and vulnerability in a way that makes Linda immediately relatable and likeable… until she isn’t. You can feel her frustration, her desire to be in control and her need for Bradley to need her. Dylan O’Brien, meanwhile, leans fully into Bradley’s overconfidence, which makes him frustrating, funny, and occasionally surprisingly endearing. O'Brien is excellent at playing the confident, cocky, bad-boy. The dynamic between these two is what powers the film: it’s equal parts tension, comedy, and, dare I say, grudging respect that slowly develops under extreme circumstances.
What I loved most about Send Help is how it flips the survival genre on its head. Yes, there’s danger, physical challenges, and moments of real suspense, but Raimi uses them as opportunities to explore human behaviour in extreme conditions. Office politics, entitlement, and personality clashes suddenly feel like life-or-death matters, and the comedy never undercuts the tension.
The film also excels at its pacing. Raimi never lets a scene stagnate, and even quieter moments are packed with energy. A simple attempt to build shelter becomes a mini battle of wits, a search for food turns into an escalating ordeal, and casual dialogue quickly reveals character layers and personal stakes.
The storyline is believable and with the audience in on Linda’s secret, it gives time for the audience to build rapport and make allegiances with Bradley. It’s very impressive how both characters are likeable and dislikeable and by the end you might struggle to be on one side.
The violence is perfectly placed and gives the film such a fierce edge. Some sections I was so grossed out I could barely look (the thumb in the eye always makes me feel unwell). I was on the edge of my seat in the final scene - it was exhilarating and not disappointing. But is anyone else thinking, what happened to the ring?
If there’s one minor critique, it’s that a few plot twists feel a bit obvious or convenient, but honestly, the film embraces its own chaos so fully that I barely noticed and didn’t care. I was more excited to think Linda was going all Misery on Bradley, than bothered. What matters is the ride this film takes you on: frenetic, funny, occasionally gross, (the thumb in the eye always makes me feel unwell) and always intriguing.
Send Help isn’t subtle, it’s a wild, witty, ride. It’s an exploration of human behaviour when civilisation is gone and roles are reversed. If you like your comedies with a side of tension, your survival stories with a twist of absurdity, and your films filled with energy and heart, this is one island trip you don’t want to miss.
'Send Help' is available to watch in theatres now.
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