★★★ (3 out of 4)
Blending mirth and menace is a bear to get right, except for director Sam Raimi. He did it in “The Evil Dead,” “Drag Me to Hell” and the original “Spider-Man” trilogy. Now he does it again, with his mischief meter going all the way to 11, in “Send Help,” a twisted two-hander starring a fully committed Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien that really will make you laugh till its hurts.
Before Raimi and screenwriters Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, known for delicious re-dos of “Friday the 13th” and “Baywatch,” strand this potent pair of nutjobs on a desert island, they show them hacking through the jungles of corporate America.
Need more proof that Raimi is a magician? He actually makes the luminous McAdams look frumpy in the role of Linda Liddle, a work drone under the misogynist thumb of nepo baby Bradley Preston, the boss from hell as played by O’Brien with enough male asshole energy to power a dozen HR videos on how to spot a bullying predator.
O’Brien does nothing to ingratiate himself as hissable Bradley. After denying Linda the promotion his late father promised, he invites her along with his frat bro employees for a business/vacation trip to Bangkok, only Linda is expected to handle the work part. Repulsed by the way she eats tuna fish, his plan is to fire her after they return home.
Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien really will make you laugh till its hurts.
That never happens since their jet crashes on a deserted island—a knockout scene that Raimi directs in the gangbusters style we’ve come to know and love. Only two passengers survive. If you guessed Linda and Bradley, you graduate from Screenwriting 101. The injured Bradley takes shelter under a palm tree, but he’s now fully dependent on Linda and, lucky for him, she’s more than up to the job.
At a recent office party, Linda was mocked with an audition tape she did for TV’s “Survivor.” Who’s laughing now? Not Bradley, since the pretty boy boss lacks even basic survival skills. Only Linda has the qualifications to take command. And the first hour of the movie, the best part, shows her as a one-woman parade of know-how. The movie wisely resists a romantic turn between Bradley and this woman who’s already survived an abusive husband.
It’s terrific to see McAdams, an Oscar nominee for “Spotlight” and an immortal villain as Regina George in “Mean Girls,” ride this “I am woman hear me roar” role to glory. As Bradley, O’Brien has a lot of macho pride to swallow and it’s a treat to watch him gulp it down with crack comic timing. O’Brien just gave the performance of his life in “Twinless” and Raimi makes damn sure that this underrated actor gets to show sides to Bradley we never expected.
Don’t press me for details in a spoiler-free review. Suffice it to say that Raimi sends the plot hurtling into dark corners of violent psychosis that may be too much even for “Evil Dead” fanatics. There’s a reason “Send Help” is rated R and it’s not just for language. Linda’s hunt for a wild boar is a grossout hellzapoppin’. And there’s more gore to come.
OK, the ending is divisive and hard to defend even for this longtime fanboy. But don’t let it put you off the unhinged fun and ferocity that has made Sam Raimi a name to trust when it comes to going off the deep end to put terror in your heart and a slaphappy smile on your face. Mission accomplished.