Send Help (2026) Review
- Viktoria
- Jun 2
- 5 min read
Director: Sam Raimi
Year of release: 2026
Countries of origin: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand
Spoiler status: Light spoilers
Genre: Psychological horror
Send Help is one of those psychological horror movies you didn't know you needed. It's fresh, intense, and definitely sickening in the best way possible. It relies not only on jump scares but also on dread-inducing situations paired with paranoia. The visual storytelling in this movie is also on another level. The cuts between scenes, the tiny hints hidden in plain sight... They are simply brilliant, pulling you into the plot deeper than you've ever expected. Nothing is as it seems, but in a very obvious way. While watching the movie, I've found myself wondering on multiple occasions how a certain detail will affect the plot because it was obvious it would, but the audience didn't know how or when. I also need to point out the fact that this was my first time watching a movie where I didn't know who to root for. This is the only way I can put it without giving away too much to the people who haven't watched the movie yet.
If you don't mind a minor level of gore, make sure to check out Send Help. Even though it's predictable, you most definitely won't see certain things coming.
The plot of Send Help
The movie starts almost like a run-of-the-mill rom-com from the 2000's. A toxic work environment, a boss who belittles and uses women... You know, all the things people used to think were funny two decades ago. For a moment, I was very confused because I thought I had the wrong movie or was remembering wrong, and Send Help isn't a horror. So I got my phone, Googled if it was what I thought it was, and then waited patiently for the title to show up on the screen. After that, my confusion didn't disappear entirely, but at least now I was sure I had the right thing. And boy, was it the right thing.
The movie follows the main character, Linda Liddle (played by Rachel McAdams), who is a devoted and hard-working member of a company that uses and overworks her. When the owner dies, and his son, Bradley Preston (played by Dylan O'Brien), takes over, things get worse for her. She's been promised a promotion by the now-deceased boss, but Bradley decides to skip her and give it to the man who's been using Linda for personal gain. This alone would be enough to drive a person insane, but her troubles don't end here. Bradley tells her she has a chance to prove herself to the company if she flies with them to Bangkok and helps them find a way out of a tricky situation. She agrees, thinking this really is her chance to show off her skills, but soon she realizes this is just another degrading experience she has to suffer through.
Once the plane crashed, and Linda washed up on the shore of an island along with her nepo-baby boss, she felt more empowered than she had in a long time. She finally had a human being depend on her. Out here, she was the boss, and she made it very clear to Bradley that this was how things would work while they were stranded. This is a story of self-empowerment in all the wrong ways, and it's amazing. The plot had some of the best twists I've seen in a long while, ones I most certainly didn't see coming. If you enjoy shock revelations, you will most definitely enjoy this movie.
Is Send Help scary?
Just like most of the movies I review here, Send Help is scary, but definitely not in the traditional sense. It plays on your morals, what you find acceptable, and to what level. It includes plenty of jump scares and gory scenes, and even though those get your heart pumping, they aren't the scariest thing about this movie.
Imagine being stranded on an island with the person you've been tormenting ever since you inherited the company your father built. Imagine not being able to do anything on your own, and the person you disrespected is kind enough to care for you and help you regain strength and mobility. Are they being the bigger person, or are they plotting against you? Paranoia seeps into the story slowly, without you noticing, and then all of a sudden, it takes over everything. Neither of the characters can trust the other one, and slowly, but surely, the chasm between them grows even wider (and deadlier).
The movie builds dread slowly. I've seen a few comments about scenes being unnecessarily stretched out, taking away from the unease the story would otherwise cause. I don't agree with this. The movie is obviously a slow-burn psychological horror, and it takes its time building the eerie atmosphere we get to enjoy in the second half. It's not unnecessarily stretched out; it's well thought through. Once again, the horror genre takes it upon itself to hold up a mirror to society and point out the obvious social issues that slowly but surely turn into the most horrifying plot devices. This is something that cannot be taken lightly, and I'm glad they took their time with the storytelling.
Is Send Help good?
Send Help is one of the better horror movies I've watched lately. It's got dark humor, realistic elements, and revelations that will chill you to your core. This isn't just an entertaining horror movie; it's also a social commentary on how women are treated in their workplaces AND outside. No matter how smart or resourceful they are, men (and, unfortunately, even women) will look down at them because they look different, aren't as social as the others, or they simply enjoy their tuna sandwich a bit too much. They are turned into weirdos no one wants to hang out with, so they become isolated and branded as crazy.
Not to be that person, but Linda wasn't completely out of line. Most of her actions were actually reactions to things people did to her. She was just a girlie✨™ who wanted to enjoy being in control for the first time in who knows how long. Were all her actions justifiable? No. Did she make mistakes? Definitely. Can we be mad at her for this? Eeeh...
This movie is deeper than it appears at first glance, and that's why I enjoyed it so much. It's not the usual one-dimensional story about a damsel in distress who relies on her male counterpart. She took things into her own hands and succeeded. She did things the wrong way, but we'll count it as a success nonetheless.
Rating: 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
Send Help definitely deserves a 5/5. It balances nicely between social commentary and entertainment. When doing this, it's very easy to mess up your plot and not get your point across, but this movie definitely succeeded. Its IMDb rating sits at 6.8, which is honestly ridiculous. It definitely deserves a higher score.
If you enjoy dark humor and gore, make sure to give this horror gem a watch. I'll leave the trailer below so you can check it out.
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