'Send Help' Sends a Strong Message
How long has it been since we’ve seen a proper Sam Raimi film? Raimi has become a sort of symbol of how comic book franchises can tank a filmmaker’s career. His return to Marvel with Dr. Strange 2 did him no favors. The last time we got some fun, zany Raimi was 2009 with Drag Me to Hell, reinstilling Sam’s horror roots. His latest film, Send Help, isn’t a horror film so much as a horror-thriller-comedy with biting social commentary. It’s an amalgamation of genres that blend together beautifully in a movie that makes you think you’ll know the ending, and even if you do, the story's concluding point is a great hook. Like John Wick, Sam Raimi is officially back.
The movie’s opening might throw you off guard. It starts like it’s a romantic comedy. The opening credits are upbeat, with Danny Elfman’s score. Our main character, Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), is a quirky desk worker. She makes awkward conversations, is a sloppy eater, and likely owns a lot of cats. Despite her spectacular skills and work ethic, she’s overlooked for a promotion because the company’s owner’s son walked in the door one day.
When demoted by her new boss, Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), a tragic event places Linda in a fortunate situation that changes the movie's trajectory. After a plane crash, Bradley and Linda are stranded on a deserted island with no means of communicating with the outside world. For all of his “look at my golf swing” machismo, Bradley turns out not to be a Survivor. An allegory that’s way too on the nose in this movie, when earlier we see Rachel watching an episode of the hit show in her tiny apartment.
Linda is able to hunt for food, collect water, and aid an injured Bradley, who shows little to no gratitude toward Linda. The movie wraps itself around the premise from the beginning that we want to see Bradley die. He’s the epitome of a spoiled brat. Hie entire image of tanned good looks, muscular physique, and bro culture is a reflection of an insecure little boy. Bradley is cruel to everyone around him. He’s only cool with his other bros. If Linda looked more like a supermodel, then perhaps she’d get a raise at work. Her entire office culture at her corporate job is male-dominated. They represent the exact image of how egocentrism dominates the world landscape. Women are meant to be servants, while men handle the more complex jobs. Unless the women look like Barbie Dolls. We’re just marking time for Linda to finally exact her revenge on Bradley.
At a certain point in the movie, we learn about Bradley’s sad background revolving around neglectful parents. The classic sob story for rich people. Whether rich or poor, everybody hurts. That still doesn’t excuse Bradley for being a heartless person. The movie isn’t just another survival-island film. It’s a stick-it-to-the-man film. Until it isn’t, the movie could have easily fallen into familiar tropes, yet it flips everything on its head, showing how isolation can bring out our true selves. Send Help may have a generic title, but when you reach the credits, it becomes very clear what the real meaning behind the title is.
During the campfire powwow, we think the movie is going to turn into a dark rom-com between Linda and Bradley, but it ends up being more of a thriller. Of course, if you watch any trailers, none of this will come as a surprise. Trailers ruin movies, as they did with Spider-Man 3, minus the dancing. For a fresh experience, you can’t do any better than this one. “Send Help” says a lot, as goofily as possible. Underneath all the movie’s blood and puke is a gloomy look at humanity’s ego. Not only in terms of sexism, but also wanting to be relevant. Linda is a small fish in a big pond, but on the island, she’s the big fish in a small pond. The movie has a bit of a Triangle of Sadness gotcha moment, but it works on multiple levels here. Aside from a middle act that could have been trimmed, Send Help is a hilarious, gross-out, thrill ride that has something more to think about than its surface values.
Send Help releases in theaters this Friday
