To fully explain why Send Help doesn't work requires some revelations about the second half of the film. If you're terribly averse to spoilers, even those mostly revealed in the trailer, you should watch the film first. It isn't successful in the things it tries, but there are enough good moments to warrant a single viewing.
There is an inkling of a great film buried within Send Help, the latest horror-comedy from Sam Raimi. Sadly, the timid script is hellbent on taking every lazy and unimaginative way out of the tantalizing setup, which leads to an unsatisfying ride held together by the luminous Rachel McAdams in the leading role. This is her film, and she is tremendous. In the long line of bruised and battered anti-heroes in the Raimi filmography, McAdams ranks right alongside Ash (Bruce Campbell).
The first half of Send Help is tremendous. It subverts the office rom-com cliche from a meet-cute to a meet-hate and drops our leading duo into a mix between Cast Away and Lord of the Flies.
McAdams plays Linda Liddle, a timid but hardworking drone who is viciously and without reason bullied by everyone at her office. The new CEO, Brad (Dylan O'Brien), rejects her promotion because Linda isn't attractive enough for him. Everyone and everything exists to kick her in the head. It is brutal and unfair in the way that life is for many. Within minutes, we're on Linda's side. By all accounts, she is a good person. All she wants is acknowledgement for her work and someone other than her bird to join her in watching Survivor in the evenings.
When Brad offers Linda a semi-mandatory work trip to Thailand to "prove her worth", Linda begrudgingly accepts. They board a private plane with a pack of other frat bros in the office and set off with the intent that Linda does the work while the rest party. During the flight, Brad and the others discover Linda's audition tape for Survivor, which they mock in front of her.
Then, a freak storm tears the plane apart, killing everyone but Brad and Linda, who wake up on a deserted island somewhere far from the established flight plan. Brad is injured and hopelessly out of his depth, while Linda finds herself more alive than she's ever been. In a horrific kind of way, this is everything she dreamed about.
It doesn't take long for Brad to realize he's in trouble. Linda sheds her wallflower skin quicker than you can say "Cast Away", and she has no interest in a return to old office dynamics. When Brad attempts to bully her into submission, Linda quietly, but firmly reminds him who is keeping who alive.
And still, we are on Linda's side. Until suddenly we aren't.
If you've seen the trailers for Send Help, you know the basics. Linda doesn't want to leave the island. Why would she? So the story shifts from waiting for rescue to one of survival. A kind of Lord of the Flies type scenario, which the film references in a few unsubtle ways.
Before you know it, Send Help is no longer on Linda's side. It moves gradually, then all at once, to an ugly and even misogynist reading of her as a character that ruined the mood for me. The script (written by two men) insinuates that Linda is dangerous and clearly unhinged, and then seeks to find ways to drive that point home in increasingly convoluted ways. There's even a suggestion that this isn't the first time she's done something this drastic before.
You could frame it as an attempt to subvert a subversion, but Send Help really isn't up to the task. Instead, it swerves clumsily into dreary slasher movie territory that tries to have it both ways as a pop-celebration of girl power and a sleazy gag that ends with "women, right?"
But before this turn takes place, Send Help is a better film. In retrospect, those good moments feel lesser knowing what comes after, but they are there. The plane crash is spectacular, especially as Raimi plays to his strengths in tormenting his cast. Linda's first hunt for a boar is equally hysterical. A late fight to the death is particularly brutal in a way that made me squeak in discomfort.
Throughout all of this, McAdams shines. She's brilliant as Linda, both as the bullied victim and the powerful warrior who seeks to mark her territory. None of this would work without her. She – as does Linda – deserves better.
At barely over 90 minutes, Send Help is just short enough that it exits just as it starts to feel unwelcome. The finale is a dud and the last stinger feels like a last minute reshoot. It's the kind of belly flop that makes the picture appear worse than it probably is. If you leave just around the halfway mark, you can pretend you've just seen one of the best horror-comedies in years.
But that's hardly a compliment.
