Sam Raimi first made his name as a filmmaker with the success of the Evil Dead movies. He has ventured outside of the genre to take on Spider-Man and other projects, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost his touch with directing quality horror films. Ahead of the theatrical release of Send Help, the next horror film directed by Raimi, the film has garnered some very high praise from critics following early screenings for the press.
“A hilariously sharp film about the impossible task of climbing the corporate ladder,” Jonathan Sim of ComingSoon.net said of Send Help. “Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are a match made in hell. Bloody brilliance that pushes its characters to dark, hysterical places. An absolute blast.”
Rachel Leishman of The Mary Sue said that Send Help “is a whole lot of fun. It is the kind of movie that Sam Raimi was destined to make.” Leishman added the the film was a “banger of a movie and a great time at the cinema.”
“Send Help is everything you’d ever want from a Sam Raimi horror movie: disturbing, campy, extremely gory, and funny as hell,” ComicBook critic Chris Killian expressed. “Rachel and Dylan are a dream team & just beat the total shit out of each other. For extra fun – Bring someone who’s squeamish and have a blast.”
Critic Eric Goldman stated, “Oh man, Send Help is so freaking up my alley. It’s so fun and crazy and violent and Raimi!”
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Notably, Send Help is the first R-rated film directed by Raimi in over 25 years, since 2000’s The Gift. While his 2009 film Drag Me to Hell similarly drew high praise, it did so with a PG-13 rating. The early reviews are making it clear that Raimi’s Send Help has more than earned its R-rating, as fans should expect to see an abundance of blood and gore.
In the film, per the official synopsis, “Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) and Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), two colleagues who find themselves stranded on a deserted island after they are the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it becomes an unsettling and darkly humorous battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.”
Send Help hits theaters on Jan. 30, 2026.
