Director Sam Raimi’s newest film, “Send Help,” is more than just another stranded-on-a-tropical-island story, critics say, as the film has over a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes and no shortage of praise citing masterful genre-bending, and I would agree. “Send Help” is not comparable to other survival movies, such as “Cast Away” or “Lord of the Flies” — it is much, much worse.
“Send Help,” which made its theatrical debut Jan. 30, is an R-rated comedy-thriller directed by Sam Raimi (of “The Evil Dead” and Tobey Maguire’s “Spider-Man” fame, that is). Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), the film’s main character, is passed over for a well-deserved promotion, so, to cease her protests, her new boss, Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), brings her along on a business trip to Bangkok to restore her sense of importance in the workplace. Their plane predictably crashes, leaving the two to fight for survival on an island in the Gulf of Thailand. However, Bradley injures his leg in the crash, so Linda, an avid “Survivor” fan, must use her reality TV knowledge to care for them both while Bradley’s leg heals. The remainder of the film explores the relationship between Linda and Bradley, including how far Linda will go to protect Bradley, herself and their new life on the island.
The strongest part of the film lies in its performances, with McAdams doing seemingly all she can with such a disjointed script. Linda’s demeanor often flips in between scenes, oscillating between almost motherly affection and unbridled anger toward Bradley, leaving the audience and Bradley completely unsure of where the two stand. This technique may have been an attempt to build tension and suspense, but ultimately, it is disorienting and comes across as lazy writing. With a 113-minute runtime and so little actually happening, it is disconcerting that any character building would be happening off-screen. Linda’s character is meant to be a frumpy, awkward businesswoman who becomes a force to be reckoned with while adjusting to life on the island, but the script neither fully commits to this makeover cliche nor to a subversion of it, as Linda continues to make pathetic, self-deprecating decisions and comments once she grows accustomed to island life. In the more violent scenes, though, McAdams is convincingly bloodthirsty and breathes whatever life she can into such a confusingly written, incongruent character.
Another glaring issue with the film is its lack of inherent visual beauty, from its unconvincing CGI to excessive and unnecessary gore. The shots depicting the supposedly scenic island are unmoving because the overuse of unsightly CGI undermines any possible sense of immersion. With so much of the setting requiring viewers to suspend their disbelief, it becomes a large ask to require that regarding the plot as well. The film’s gore, although a feature of most horror films and a Sam Raimi staple, quickly becomes the crutch that the film’s categorization as a horror movie rests upon. Gore for the sake of gore may be enjoyable for some movie-goers, but it plays no part in creating a thrilling, suspenseful movie-going experience. It only succeeds in grossing out the audience, which certainly adds to its shock value but does nothing to improve the overall quality of the movie.
I find the movie’s faults to be especially disappointing considering the raw potential of the premise and everything it had going for it: star power, a legendary director and a $40 million budget to execute it. Linda Liddle, an overlooked, rightfully angry cog in the corporate machine, is given her perfect chance at revenge. Instead of executing it interestingly or even squandering the opportunity in the name of human goodness (despite her resentment toward the exploitative nature of capitalist society), she does neither and sits on the fence for the entire painfully long movie. Any interesting social commentary the movie could have made is wasted by its inability to commit to sending any message at all.
With so many options of interesting storylines to explore and avenues for the plot to take, “Send Help” loses itself in its indecision, instead offering a movie with no clear theme or satisfying climax. What could have been a sharp take on power in corporate America and its futility in the face of life and death instead quickly becomes a frustrating exercise in unrealized potential.
