Send Help (2026)

Send Help (2026)

When an accident forces our lives to change. Or when we use an accident to our advantage!

In fact, this film raises a lot of questions! What happens when a despicable person is suddenly at the mercy of someone they used to treat as a nobody? How far do ethics go? At what point can a good and pure person become odious, or even a bloodthirsty monster?

You have to be extremely open-minded to understand the protagonists of this feature film. It takes a certain sensitivity to grasp the elusive, the incomprehensible, the illogical par excellence for people for whom everything is black and white.

Sam Raimi just can’t help himself! He needs to keep returning to what made his Evil Dead films (1981 to 1992) such a success. He needs to disgust and shock, whilst making people laugh. Which is quite skilful, but it doesn’t work for everyone, nor does it work every time. Okay, you need blood, slime, vomit, gouged-out eyes falling from their sockets… but hasn’t the gag gone on long enough? No, Sam Raimi has nothing to prove! He can do whatever he wants, whatever makes him happy.

But let’s admit it, this film is still a right old mess!!!

Sam had proven he could create something else entirely by directing the incredible first Spider-Man trilogy (2002 to 2007). That said, I didn’t like all his superhero films either, as Doctor Strange 2 (2022) rather disappointed me. On the other hand, I absolutely loved The Gift (2000) and its cast. Drag Me to Hell (2009) is a film worth watching, but, although I think back to it regularly, it’s not one of my favourites. But it’s a right bit of a wild ride!

A Simple Plan (1998) is a film I love, and The Quick and the Dead (1995) is one of my favourite Westerns alongside Silverado (1985), Bad Girls (1994), and The Magnificent Seven (1960 and its 2016 remake). I still haven’t seen Darkman (1990) or For Love of the Game (1999)! What on earth am I doing???

I was really pleased to see Danny Elfman’s name in the credits. I don’t know if he’s been as active in recent years, but I suppose he has. He has clearly been and remains one of my favourite film composers. It’s impossible to draw up a list, but let’s mention Batman 1 & 2 (1989 & 1992), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mars Attacks! (1996), The Family Man (2000), Spider-Man 1 & 2 (2002 and 2004), Hellboy 2 (2008), Alice in Wonderland and The Wolfman (2010), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Justice League (2017), etc. In fact, he composed the music for most of Tim Burton’s films, as well as several of Sam Raimi’s. And, of course, the series Desperate Housewives from 2004 to 2012. Well, you’ll also know him for the theme tunes to the TV series The Simpsons, Tales from the Crypt, The Flash and Wednesday.

It’s worth noting that he was in the fabulous band Oingo Boingo in the 80s. It might be hard to believe for some, but Danny was playing New Wave back then. And he was already doing it rather well!

The lead duo also played a big part in my thoroughly enjoying this film.

Rachel McAdams is definitely one of those sparkling actresses. And I don’t use that term for just anyone. If I had to pick a few standout films from her filmography, I’d definitely include Red Eye (2005), which really made an impression on me! When Rachel’s on a plane under Wes Craven’s direction, it’s just as good as when she’s under Sam Raimi’s.

Just like Spotlight (2015), Aloha (2015) also boasts an incredible cast. Rachel McAdams is also known for being excellent in love stories such as The Notebook (2004) or The Vow (2012). I’m less convinced by her love story with a woman, even though her co-star is none other than the lovely Rachel Weisz in Disobedience (2017).

I’ll also mention the very enjoyable Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2 (2010 & 2011), as well as a major teenage role in Mean Girls (2004).

As for Dylan O’Brien, this will be wrapped up more quickly! No, it’s not that I don’t like him, but he does have a knack for getting on my nerves wherever I see him. Still, at the same time, I’m pleased to see him again. Go figure!

With him, I’ll mainly remember The Maze Runner trilogy (2014–2018). Love and Monsters (2020) disappointed me a bit, even though I consider it a good film. I’ll also add Anniversary (2025) to the mix, a film that really unsettled me and which I’m struggling to write a review of at the moment. Haven’t seen Flashback (2020) yet.

Alas, I was disappointed by this film. And yet, I really had to see it! The director constantly reinforces everything he sets up with monologues designed to recap the ins and outs of the plot every twenty minutes, as if he needed to justify himself constantly and hold an inattentive viewer by the hand. But it’s still interesting. Until…

The last half-hour of the film goes completely off the rails. You can clearly recognise the director’s signature style, which seems to be running out of steam. We were looking forward to this comeback, but not like this! They’re just rehashing old material at any cost. Because, sure, Evil Dead is absurd. But this film didn’t deserve to be. For over an hour, everything is gripping, unsettling, moving. And then suddenly, there’s this ending that ruins everything and botches it all.

The digital special effects are rather grotesque, and that’s probably intentional, but it doesn’t help! They could have made this film without any digital effects at all. There must not have been much of a budget.

Sam Raimi is as cynical as ever, but a bit worn out, clearly struggling to recapture the energy, pace and inventive camerawork of his early films. He’s incapable of reinventing his artistic style. His films were, at their core, parodies. But here, he finds himself parodying his own parodies!

When I came out of the film, I wondered if I’d really understood everything that had happened and why… but I think it’s just completely disjointed and lacks any clear purpose.

I won’t deny that I had a good laugh at certain moments, like during the plane crash, which is entirely CGI, a bit grim, but quite funny.

This film won’t feature in any of my selective filmographies: not when I talk about Sam, nor when I talk about Rachel, nor when I talk about Dylan.

The fourth wall is broken twice in less than two minutes right at the very end. That’s often where it happens… and almost always for the same reasons!