The poster for “Send Help” advertises the film as “from the director of ‘The Evil Dead’ and ‘Drag Me to Hell’” — notably not “Spider-Man” or its two sequels. No, the kind of Sam Raimi film you’re getting here is irreverent, silly and very bloody; a character study that also features incredibly goofy scares. Written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, “Send Help” is a gonzo survivalist riff that works as well as it does because it features two incredibly game actors that surf the wave of Raimi’s tonal madness with a blend of absolute glee and carefully honed skill.
If the poster were to present the star of “Send Help” in the same way as Raimi, the tagline would read, “from the star of ‘Red Eye’ and ‘Mean Girls,’” because Rachel McAdams is fully in her horror/comedy mode here, and it’s an excellent reminder of her range. Co-star Dylan O’Brien also proves himself once again to be one of the best actors of his generation: a teen heartthrob who now operates more like a chameleonic character actor. Both McAdams and O’Brien play with their movie star personae but move beyond those expectations to deliver highly expressive, almost clownish performances — in the best way.
McAdams is astonishingly dowdy as beleaguered corporate workhorse Linda Liddle, a “Survivor”-obsessed loser who is passed over for a promotion by her slick new nepo-baby boss, Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien). In an attempt to play the good ol’ boys game, she boards a private flight to Bangkok with the team, where she bangs out memos while they laugh at her “Survivor” audition tape. One plane crash and stranding on a tropical island later, the tables are turned, with the injured Bradley now at the mercy of Linda and her survival skills.
The swap in power dynamic thrills Linda, and the shift calls to mind Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” specifically the relationship between Dolly de Leon and Harris Dickinson. But “Send Help” is more of a psychological exploration than overt class satire, though it incorporates all relevant social status markers and constructs as it explores the ridiculous notion of what it would be like to be stranded on an island with your boss.
McAdams and O’Brien deliver almost silent-film era acting with their faces (there’s one bravura long shot of O’Brien eating a bug that’s absolutely virtuosic), and Raimi’s camera playfully pushes the audience around, offering exaggerated tilts and close-ups on specific items, saying “look here, at that!” There’s no subtlety, but would you expect that from the director of “The Evil Dead” and “Drag Me to Hell”? You’re just waiting for the ghouls and blood geysers to pop out. That level of cheeky artifice extends to the aesthetic of their paradisiacal island adventure too, but we don’t come to a Raimi film for its natural realism.
If there’s any flaw to “Send Help,” it’s that it generates such nuance and empathy for both Linda and Bradley, even within such outlandish circumstances and style, that it feels impossible to root for just one of them to come out on top. The film paints itself into such a corner when it comes to their conflict that any ending would feel too clean, too pat. As it stands, the ending is just that. It’s to the script’s credit — as well as Raimi and the actors — that they manage to make such an odious character as Bradley actually sympathetic, and such a clear heroine as Linda so complex and thorny. Nothing’s perfect, but “Send Help” is a blast nevertheless.
Katie Walsh is a critic for Tribune News Service.
“Send Help” — 3 stars (out of 4)
MPA rating: R (for strong/bloody violence and language)
Running time: 1:53
How to watch: In theaters Jan. 30