Dylan O'Brien and Rachel McAdams in 'Send Help.' Brook Rushton/20th Century Studios Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Imagine that sexy couple stranded on a desert island in Lina Wertmuller's Swept Away not dealing with sexual tension and class differences but rather trying to kill each other, and you have some idea of the gonzo sensibility of Send Help. Sam Raimi's darkly comic horror-thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien boasts an audacious concept that is superbly realized by Raimi's filmmaking, which milks every bizarre situation for all it's worth. A thoroughly deglamorized McAdams definitely plays against type as the aptly named Linda Liddle, a mousy employee at a consulting firm. Her excellent work goes unappreciated, except when a conniving colleague, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), takes credit for it. She's shunned by her fellow workers, and her new boss, Bradley Preston (O'Brien), treats her with condescension, especially when she greets him with tuna fish on her face. "She makes me sick," he declares, shortly before telling Linda that the promotion she's long deserved is going to his former frat brother Donovan instead. Related Stories Movies How Some Real Hollywood Workplace Horror Stories Helped Shape Thriller 'Send Help' Movies Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien Face Off After Plane Crash in Sam Raimi's 'Send Help' Trailer Send Help The Bottom Line Fun, freaky and full of surprises. Release date: Friday, Jan. 30Cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi, Dennis HaysbertDirector: Sam RaimiScreenwriters: Damian Shannon, Mark Swift Rated R, 1 hour 53 minutes As a consolation prize, he invites her to join him and several other executives on a business trip to Thailand, traveling by private jet. During the flight, she's thoroughly humiliated when someone finds her audition tape for Survivor and displays it on his laptop for all to enjoy. It seems like things couldn't get worse, until the plane goes down and she and a badly wounded Bradley are the only survivors stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere. It soon becomes apparent that the tables have turned. Bradley, who can barely walk on his injured leg, demonstrates no practical skills whatsoever to cope with their current predicament. But Linda, who clearly has plenty of experience when it comes to practicing survival skills, is in her element. She makes sturdy shelter out of tree branches, she starts fires, and she cooks fish that she's caught. She even goes hunting, getting into a life-and-death battle with a ferocious wild boar. Meanwhile, Bradley scoffs at her efforts, at least until she literally brings home the bacon. Gradually, the two begin a rapprochement, with a recovered Bradley pitching in to help. Until, that is, they have a difference of opinion about what to do. Linda wants to stay on the island and wait to be found. He insists they build a raft and attempt to flag down a passing boat. To reveal more would be to go against the impassioned plea by the good folks at Disney not to reveal any plot spoilers, etc. (Most of what I've described is shown in the film's trailer). So let's just say that things happen, and that Linda reveals unexpected dimensions that constantly shift our perceptions and move the story in different, shocking ways. It's easy to imagine screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift cackling as they wrote the script and anticipating the audience members' gasps with each new plot development. The narrative cleverness would only go so far, however, if it were not expertly brought to life. Raimi, in his first foray into horror since 2009's Drag Me to Hell, attacks the material with a joyous ferocity that proves infectious. There are several virtuosic sequences, including the plane crash and Linda's duel to the death with the boar, that fully justify the film's R rating and induce laughter with their audacity. The filmmaker seems to take delight in grossing you out while making you feel like you're in on the joke. In the past, McAdams has proved equally fine at romantic comedy and serious drama, but this role stretches her in ways she's never handled before. She's fully up to the challenge, making Linda's transformation from meek dweeb to badass survivalist fully convincing and enormous fun to watch. Seeing the actress let her freak flag fly is a delight, and O'Brien, whose character also displays many facets, matches her step for step. He's enjoyably hissable as the asshole boss and later proves appealing when his character displays humbleness and warmth. Although appearances can be deceiving. It could be said that Send Help indulges in more baroque plot twists than fully necessary and begins to lose some steam toward the end. But the surprising climax, p