SEND HELP: 3 ½ STARS. “a nasty piece of work but in a good way.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Send Help,” the new survival thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien now playing in theatres, the power dynamic changes between a mousy office worker and her arrogant boss when they are stranded on a deserted island in a desperate fight for survival.
CAST: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi. Directed by Sam Raimi.
REVIEW: “Send Help” has a jump scare or two, gallons of blood and some grisly moments but this isn’t Sam Raimi in full-on horror mode à la “Drag Me to Hell.” Instead, it’s kind of like a viciously humorous mash-up of “Survivor,” “Gilligan’s Island” and season four of “The Apprentice” with a side of “Misery.”
Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, a genius with numbers, but socially awkward office worker in the Strategy & Planning department of a large company. After seven years of keeping her head down and doing the work, she is passed up for a promised promotion when the owner of the company dies, and his arrogant son Bradley (Dylan O’Brien) is put in charge. “I need someone who can charm a room, who can make a deal, somebody who golfs,” he sneers. “Does that make sense?”
When the company jet goes down during a work trip to Thailand, Linda and Bradley wash up on the shore of a deserted island, the lone survivors of the crash. As she uses lessons learned by watching the reality show “Survivor” to nurse him back to health, he takes every opportunity to remind her who’s boss. “Watch how you speak to me. You work for me. You got a problem with that?”
But when it becomes apparent the teachings of the boardroom don’t apply to life on a desert island, the power dynamic changes. “We’re not in the office anymore Bradley,” she says. “OK?”
“Send Help” is a nasty piece of work. In a good way. Director Raimi, working from a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, sets up a study in control dynamics that allows for maximum meanness and brutal betrayal all covered with a lush layer of uncomfortable laughs.
Essentially a two hander, the real success of the film relies on its leads.
As the gauche Linda, McAdams leaves behind the glamour of many of her most famous roles to embrace the character’s awkwardness and rage. The island situation offers Linda a sense of control she’s never experiences before and she is willing to go to extremes to maintain it. It’s a wacky, violent and unpredictable performance that allows McAdams to use the full arsenal of her talent. Behind the million dollar smile she’s funny, feral and furious, and it’s a blast to see her do something we’ve never seen her do before.
As toxic manchild Bradley, O’Brien isn’t as flashy as McAdams but manages several memorable moments. His chewing of food alone—which ranks on par with Denis Quaid’s mastication work in “The Substance”—could have earned this movie an R-rating for its unpleasantness. Misophoniacs beware.
“Send Help” is a twisted crowd-pleaser powered by frustration, empowerment and fun lead performances.
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