Send Help unleashes a surprise hit with unexpected depth, shocks, fourth wall breaks, and even a jump scare or two.
Send Help is a cautionary tale in an imaginary, unlikely setting. While some choices raise questions, the movie is, by and large, lighthearted, bloody entertainment. So much of the film is peak from gore to cringe. It’s similar to another recent film. Send Help unleashes a surprise hit with unexpected depth, shocks, fourth wall breaks, and even a jump scare or two.
Sam Raimi (The Gift, Spider-Man) directs with Damian Shannon and Mark Swift—who previously collaborated on Freddy vs. Jason and Baywatch—penning the screenplay. The movie highlights both a gender conflict and a generational dissonance. Rachel McAdams (Red Eye, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.) plays skilled employee Linda Liddle. What she lacks in social skills, she more than makes up for with a work ethic and drive that shames her younger peers.
However, like reality, her male coworkers and the newly crowned president, Bradley Preston, played by Dylan O’Brien (Caddo Lake, Saturday Night), overlook her whenever they do not need to take advantage of her. The patriarchal dominance shifts when she and her toxic boss are the lone survivors of a plane wreck that strands them on an island.
Send Help Has Surprising Emotional Range
This is Triangle of Sadness shrunk down to two. But the emotions here stand out. Raimi does an outstanding job making audiences squirm in secondhand embarrassment as Linda tries to connect with her coworkers. We get backstories for both leads that create a more nuanced character, even if it does not excuse their choices. The crash itself is a mixture of comedic and shocking, as the awful dudebros get a bloody comeuppance.
Mental Health and Casting Choices
There are a couple of aspects to the comedy that fall into cringeworthy decision-making. First, while not explicit, there is an implication that Linda is a savant. But it’s unclear whether it’s genuine or sarcastic. The continued portrayal of people with various disabilities, conditions, or disorders as dangerous is a problem. Not only does it foster the fictitious claim that disability equals a threat, but it also pushes the idea that the mistreatment she suffers at work is okay because they knew something was “off” with her. The blame lies with her, rather than them being awful people.
Send Help wants to switch who the awful person is, but employs non-white cast members to force viewers to dislike Linda. It feels as though many of the non-white characters are mere pawns to propel a shift in a white character’s story. To relegate an actor like Dennis Haysbert, known for films like Waiting to Exhale, to an awkward onscreen blip does not sit right with me.
Over-the-top That Works
Send Help keeps it surprising and fun as Bradley loses his element and Linda finds hers in a film about privilege and who survives in nature. But the girlbossiness loses steam as they do everything in their power to make Linda unforgivable. If you cheer for her, it’s at the expense of non-white people, and perhaps that’s the point. Or perhaps the implication is that everyone has a bit of a mean boss in them. Miss me with that. Send Help is bloody and fierce, with peak emotional scenes that keep audiences shifting, laughing, and even jumping in occasional fright.
