Everyone’s favorite Mean Girl Rachel McAdams stars in director Sam Raimi’s dark comedy, equal parts female empowerment saga and survival thriller. In the surprisingly cliched first act, we meet Linda, the hardworking, long-suffering employee of Man-Owned Company, forever being railroaded by The Bros. She tags along on an overseas business trip, to do the boring but important work that only she can do, and when their abruptly plane goes down over the Pacific Ocean, she and her textbook douchebag boss, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), are the only two who make it to a remote tropical island. An avid fan of TV’s Survivor and an armchair expert in all related skills, Linda thrives in their new predicament, stranded and with little hope of rescue, while the duplicitous Bradley may or may not be onboard with their challenging new reality.
We’ve seen a lot of this before, but Ms. McAdams’ innate charm works wonders and the entertaining Raimi-isms abound as he reaches deep into his bag of tricks, going all the way back to the Evil Dead movies. Hang on for extreme close-ups, over-the-top blood and gore, and even a sly Bruce Campbell “cameo.” A lot of clever twists keep us guessing–who’s telling the truth and who has a secret agenda?–but I suspect that not everyone will be satisfied by the ending.
Send Help was captured digitally on the way to a true 4K master (a few shots were grabbed on an iPhone 16 Pro Max), and apart from the dependably clean 2.39:1 image, the only indication that we’re not watching film was some wonky motion in one scene of Bradley running through the jungle. Colors are strong, particularly at fireside or at sunset. The quality of the CGI varies, sometimes undetectable and other times obvious.
Raimi likewise pushes the Dolby Atmos audio hard, resulting in some impressive moments of seamless 360-degree panning. Who doesn’t love a good plane crash? (In the safety of the home theater, of course.) There are plenty of terrifying cues from all directions and just the right amount of bass. Later, we have no trouble believing that a heavy rainstorm poses a real problem on the island, and Danny Elfman’s music does a fine job underscoring both the comedic and suspenseful beats.
The 4K disc carries a fun commentary with Raimi and his fellow producer, Zainab Azizi, which is repeated on the bundled HD Blu-ray disc of the movie in this combo pack. On this second platter we’ll also find quite a bit more, starting with one of the biggest menageries of deleted, alternate and extended scenes I’ve ever come across, well over an hour in total. Shared in various forms of completion, they provide priceless insight into the filmmakers’ struggle to find the final version of the story. Bloopers, five brief featurettes and a Movies Anywhere digital copy round out the set. For those content with 1080p, be aware that there is no standalone HD Blu-ray release of Send Help, although there is a DVD-only offering.
Less slapstick and more sharp-sticks-and-stones from the irreverent Sam Raimi, Send Help made for an enjoyable movie night at Rancho Chiarella (for Mrs. C. even more than for me), and the bonus content brings an entirely new perspective.
Movie Details
- STUDIO: Fox/Disney
- FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (April 21, 2026)
- THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 2026
- ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
- HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
- AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
- LENGTH: 113 mins.
- MPAA RATING: R
- DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
- STARRING: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang
Our Ratings
★★★★★★★★★★ Picture
★★★★★★★★★★ Sound
★★★★★★★★★★ Extras
Where to buy:
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