The brilliant Send Help with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien is the first must-see thriller of 2026

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What if you were stuck on a deserted island with your awful boss, and you were the only one who knew how to survive? That’s the intriguing premise of Sam Raimi’s wildly fun, gross, and darkly thrilling movie, Send Help.

The movie Send Help starts with a frustratingly common scenario: Linda (Rachel McAdams) is denied a promised promotion. The company’s new CEO, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), chooses to give the opportunity to his friend, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), instead.

Linda, always dedicated to her job, joins Bradley and Donovan on a business trip to Bangkok to finalize a huge deal. However, their plane crashes, and Linda and Bradley are the sole survivors, stranded on a mysterious island where they must rely on each other to stay alive.

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If you’re familiar with Sam Raimi’s horror and thriller films, you know his characters often face intense and difficult situations. While it’s usually the leads – like Christine in Drag Me to Hell or Ash in Evil Dead – who suffer, Send Help extends that same treatment to even its minor characters.

Okay, so the movie wastes no time showing how Linda and Bradley are connected before they even get on the plane. Then things get really awkward when Donovan makes Linda look bad by showing everyone – including Bradley – her audition tape for Survivor. But honestly, Donovan totally deserved what happened to him – his death scene was seriously funny! And it wasn’t just a random joke, either. It actually showed us that Linda has a bit of a rebellious, maybe even dark, side to her personality. It was a clever way to build her character.

For the remainder of Send Help, the story focuses on Linda and Bradley, and Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien do a fantastic job of keeping viewers engaged. They have great chemistry, and their characters’ relationship is constantly evolving thanks to a clever script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, which keeps things unpredictable with surprising twists throughout the movie.

Most genre movies give you one standout scene to discuss, like the Iron Maiden sequence in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. But Send Help is packed with memorable moments – from a brutal boar hunt to a harrowing rescue involving a disturbingly creative torture scene. And for those who enjoy the work of Sam Raimi, rest assured, it’s all delightfully covered in plenty of gruesome fluids.

Okay, so the movie Send Help looks amazing – the cinematography is seriously top-notch, and they really used the locations well. But honestly, the best part is just how much fun it is. The action is over-the-top, but it’s McAdams and O’Brien’s comedic timing that really sells it. And let me tell you, O’Brien nails this ridiculously perfect, awful laugh – it’s hilarious!

The biggest weakness of Send Help isn’t really the filmmakers’ fault. The movie is mostly surprising, but a key plot point feels very similar to something that happened in another recent film. Without giving too much away, if you’ve seen that other movie, you’ll likely predict what’s coming next in Send Help.

The ending feels a little underwhelming, but it’s not really the show’s fault. It’s just unfortunate timing, considering Send Help has been in development since 2019. Thankfully, the thriller still manages a suitably dark conclusion, and it couldn’t have been a complete failure with Rachel McAdams and David O’Brien delivering such strong performances.

Being stuck on a desert island with your boss sounds like a nightmare, and this movie shows exactly why! But don’t let that scare you away – Send Help is a hilarious new film hitting UK cinemas next week that you definitely won’t want to miss.

Send Help is released in US cinemas on 30 January and in UK cinemas on 5 February.

The latest issue of Living Legends is now available, and it’s dedicated to the incredible Dolly Parton! You can find “Dolly at 80” at newsagents or online for only £8.99.

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2026-01-26 19:50