'Send Help' Review: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien lead comically violent desert island thriller

Movies

'Send Help' Review: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien lead comically violent desert island thriller

Sam Raimi directs the 20th Century Studios film

Joseph A. Wulfsohn Fox News

Published

January 31, 2026 9:00am EST

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'Send Help' trailer

The trailer for 20th Century Studio's "Send Help" starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien. Directed by Sam Raimi.

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I'm sure you've been asked, "If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you bring?" I don't know what three things I'd bring — a stocked fridge comes to mind because there's no way in h-e-double hockey sticks I am capable of hunting for my next meal.

When it comes to Sam Raimi's new thriller "Send Help," there's enough to chew on, but it ain't a Sub-Zero, either.

Rachel McAdams stars as Linda Liddle, a socially-inept numbers cruncher at the Preston corporation. She's the office outcast, but she's good at her job, and she believes she's due for a promotion — that is until her boss' sudden passing, leaving the company to his son, Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien). He gives the position to an old frat brother of his who had just joined the company months ago, leaving Linda, a seven-year loyal staffer, to storm into Bradley's office to confront him.

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Bradley gives her brutal honesty — that he's looking for a "people person" who's "well-liked" and "plays golf." He plainly tells her, "I just don't think you got it," leaving her absolutely devastated. But a corporate confidant who knows Linda's true worth urges him to bring her to the company's forthcoming merger meeting in Bangkok, delaying Bradley's intentions to fire her. So Linda boards the company's private jet with Bradley and his mini boys club.

To say they experienced some turbulence is putting it mildly as the jet plummets into the Pacific Ocean due to a thunderstorm, leaving Linda to swim towards a deserted island. Soon thereafter, Bradley washes ashore, leaving the two of them as the sole survivors.

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Dylan O'Brien, Rachel McAdams in Send Help

One important thing to know about Linda; she's a huge fan of "Survivor," so much so that she even sent an audition tape to the reality competition show. She has piles upon piles of books on how to survive anything. If anyone's prepared to be stranded on a deserted island, it's Linda. Building a tent from branches and leafs, starting a fire, hunting — she's a true Renaissance woman in the wilderness.

This gives her huge leverage over Bradley, who not only lacks any practical life skills, he also suffered a nasty leg injury from the crash, leaving him completely at her mercy, something he had to learn the hard way.

"We're not in the office anymore, Bradley," Linda tells him, making it clear she's calling the shots on the island.

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The dynamic between Linda and Bradley begs for character arcs for both of them. We sort of see it with Linda, who may or may not descend into madness as she embraces their new remote lifestyle — while Bradley kinda remains an a-hole throughout, even when he offers glimmers of a changed man. But maybe that's the takeaway: we're all either always bad or eventually become bad.

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Rachel McAdams carries the film on her shoulders. Despite her character being a lonesome loser, her over-the-top island-surviving enthusiasm is infectious. She's always been an underrated performer. Dylan O'Brien, best known for his stint on "Teen Wolf" and starring in the "Maze Runner" franchise, has been upping his game in recent roles (see his career-best performance in 2025's "Twinless"). Even while playing a complete jerk, there's still something about O'Brien that's incredibly disarming.

If the script was in the hands of different screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift ("Freddy vs. Jason," 2017's "Baywatch" reboot), perhaps "Send Help" would be a better movie. That being said, it's certainly elevated by Raimi's iconic style, particularly his cartoon-like violent gore that made him famous with his "Evil Dead" films. The borderline-hokey CGI also feeds into it.

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The Verdict

"Send Help" is an amusing thriller that showcases McAdams and O'Brien's talents. It's not exactly a must-see but perfectly appropriate if you have time to kill during a flight. Just hope that you make it to your destination.

★★ ½ — STREAM IT LATER

"Send Help" is rated R for strong/bloody violence and language. Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes. In theaters now.

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Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

'Send Help' Review: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien lead comically violent desert island thriller