MOVIE OF THE WEEK (1/30/2026): SEND HELP

"I know Regina George ... And she NEVER had a knife handy to do what I'm going to do!" Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) gets up close and personal with her boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien) in a scene from director Sam Raimi's dark comedy/thriller SEND HELP. Credit: © 2025 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

CAST: Rachel McAdams | Dylan O'Brien | Edyll Ismail | Xavier Samuel

WRITER: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift

DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi

TRAILER:

THE STORY: Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a hard working-but-schlubby-woman who has been in line for a promotion to a vice president position at her job for quite some time. But once her company's CEO dies and his son, Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien), takes over, she is not only informed she's not getting the promotion, but likely never getting one since he doesn't see her as executive material. Bradley does, however, give Linda one last chance to prove her worth, asking her to fix a problem with Appendix D in a form crucial to a merger with a company in Hong Kong.

What isn't expected, however, is a massive storm that is partially to blame for their private jet going down in the Pacific Ocean somewhere near Thailand, Linda and Bradley being the only two survivors of said crash. And while Bradley is eager to escape the island to get back to his fiancé Zuri (Edyll Ismail), Linda – who is a fan of a certain reality TV show competition – is in paradise, getting to live out her fantasy of escaping her old life. 

So ... What happens when someone who is desperate to escape is pitted against someone who has no desire to leave? The answer for one of them is grim – especially since there is no chance to send help to aid their cause.

THE REVIEW: A film that could quickly (but not fully) be described as what would happen if you took elements of Misery, Promising Young Woman and Gone Girl with a M. Night Shyamalan-style twist, SEND HELP is a quirky, enjoyable film ... Even if you're not quite sure at all times whom you should be rooting for. 

As opposed to going into a dissertation of women in the modern workplace, society and general male/female power dynamics, here is a quick summation of SEND HELP for those who like to be more surprised than informed before watching a film: Like her character, McAdams proves herself far more capable than what some might believe in terms of her acting range, showing that a dark comedy where her character is one to be feared is not a stretch. This, however, wouldn't come across so well without O'Brien playing so well off McAdams' performance. 

Make no mistake, however, this is McAdams' plane to land, which she does as her character crashes and burns everything around her in sight. Director Sam Raimi knows how to pace a film to keep slowly building it to a worthy climax, which SEND HELP delivers with its cat vs. mouse, Mad Magazine-like "Spy vs. Spy" feel.

That all being said, if you don't think "who should I be rooting for in this scenario" to yourself at least once, you might want to seek help ... Or at least try to release any cathartic feelings you have towards your boss by watching the film again.

RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):