Send Help is a thoroughly satisfying revenge comedy which offers Rachel McAdams a brilliant chance to show how hilariously good she is at helping but also tormenting her formerly abusive corporate boss when they’re stranded on an island.
Send Help is directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man [2002], The Evil Dead) and stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. When an employee (McAdams) and her insufferable boss (O’Brien) become stranded on a deserted island as the only survivors of a plane crash, they must overcome past grievances and work together to make it out alive.
Raimi’s horror filmmaking specialty really shines in moments when characters suddenly turn and take unexpected actions. He’s skilled building suspense through his unique visual style, as well the use of editing techniques to crosscut between past and future moments and reveal things that make it all the more enjoyable when the story takes some truly wild turns
Most satisfying, is the payoff to the central idea that a female personal assistant who is constantly undermined by her misogynistic boss can seek revenge when she’s proven to be far more capable and clever at surviving on the island. The script offers some sharp satirical writing which borrows common situations and phrases used in the corporate environment to undermine women and subverts hem in the context of a deserted island where no rules apply. This satirization of how fragile socially constructed norms are in a corporate environment is brilliantly heightened by the fact that all of these rules fall apart during a matter of life and death.
Filmed in Australia, the atmosphere of the film offers a mix of beautiful tropical cinematography which Raimi’s paints using bright blue and yellow backgrounds, contrasted against some gritty dark red and green jungle backgrounds once things take a more serious turn. The body horror does not hold back either, delivering some genuinely shocking moments with blood and maligned body parts that will keep fans of Raimi’s classic Evil Dead franchise happy.
The standout is the duel performances from Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. O’Brien is perfect at balancing the edge between likeable and immensely hate-able as the abusive boss who now has to grovel for his former assistant’s help while he’s helpless and injured on the island. McAdams on the other hand is masterful at playing into the power that she is given over her former boss and is highly skilled at slowly revealing her turn from playful jabs to genuinely cunning and maniacal.
Send Help is not to be missed, hilariously funny at times, brutally gory, and most of all a clever satire of the balance of power in corporate environments.
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