Sam Raimi hasn't directed a horror movie since 2009's Drag Me to Hell, and while Send Help isn't strictly horror, it definitely dips its toe into the genre more than once. Call it perhaps, Drag Me to Paradise.
Rachel McAdams stars as Linda Liddle, a smart and eager, but also frequently off-putting, analyst at a consulting firm. She's been promised a promotion, but when the head of the company (Bruce Campbell, in a painted portrait cameo) dies, his smarmy and overly confident son Bradley (Dylan O'Brien) takes over, and he does not take to Linda, denying her that promotion. But when they end up the sole survivors of a plane crash, deserted on an island together, roles are reversed, and Linda proves all the studying she's done with hopes of getting cast on a season of Survivor has finally paid off.
Casting McAdams in an "ugly girl" role probably seems like it would require the usual bit of Hollywood disbelief, but I don't think Linda is supposed to be ugly, per se. It's more that she's clueless when it comes to matters of fashion and hygiene, and has a problem with personal space. You can understand why people might find her annoying, but you still sympathize with her because her coworkers and boss are such assholes.
But the tides turn, and that's where I had a bit of a problem. There's no doubt Bradley is a total tool and remains one even when it's obvious he needs Linda to survive. But Linda ends up doing some really terrible things, so it becomes a story about two horrible people battling for survival, and I found it hard to root for anyone.
But I have a feeling that may just be a me problem, and most will be comfortably Team Linda the entire time. And all that aside, I still enjoyed seeing Sam Raimi getting back to some of his fun old tricks, with the kinds of comedic gore and jump scares he's a master of.
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