Lede

A corporate power game crashes onto a desert island and still finds a way to hold a meeting.

Hermit Off Script

Send Help is exactly the kind of film a cinema Unlimited pass was invented for: you watch a trailer, you get intrigued, you gamble, and you do not pretend you are attending a sacred cultural event. It landed nicely. I enjoyed it. It is brisk, nasty, and just self-aware enough to keep the island misery from turning into a lecture. But two little things pulled me out. First: the boar killing. In plenty of horror films, an animal death shows up like a bargain-bin shortcut to “serious survival”. Here, at least, it actually made sense: stranded on an island, you eat what you can. Fine. The dark comedy twist that the island is not really far from civilisation also works. Yet if you are going to sell me “this could be real-ish”, do not splash blood onto the camera like it is proud of being a camera. Cut it in the edit. Keep the illusion alive. Second: the vomit scene. That is not horror. That is just gross. If cinemas insist on selling popcorn during dark comedy horror, they should at least throw in a sick bag and a small apology. And the best compliment I can give it: when it hits streaming, there is no way in hell I am rewatching it unless it becomes one of the rare big-name keepers.

Send Help (2026) | Official Trailer

Send Help: Stranded With Your Worst Colleague

Send Help is a darkly comic survival thriller from Sam Raimi. After a plane crash, two colleagues, Linda Liddle and her boss Bradley Preston, wash up as the only survivors on a deserted island. With no rules left to hide behind, they are forced to work together for food, shelter, and any chance of rescue, while old workplace grievances keep boiling over. What starts as basic survival turns into an ugly, funny battle of wills and wits, where the island does not care about job titles, but the people on it still do. Starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien.

Cast and credits

Director: Sam Raimi
Writers: Damian Shannon, Mark Swift
Genre: Comedy, horror, thriller
Main cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi
Composer: Danny Elfman
Production company/studio: Raimi Productions (with TSG Entertainment also credited as production company in some listings)
Runtime: 1h 53min
Release year and platform: 2026 – theatrical (20th Century Studios)

What does not make sense

• A film that wants you to feel stranded, then reminds you you are watching a film by literally dirtying the lens.
• “Survival realism” that still reaches for the oldest trick: animal gore as instant credibility.
• Cinemas pushing snacks like a side hustle, while certain scenes are basically a food cancellation policy.
• The business model: Unlimited passes encourage rapid-fire “tests”, while the film itself is built to be a one-and-done.

Sense check / The numbers

1. The film is rated R, runs for 1h 53min, and released theatrically on January 30, 2026. [20th Century Studios]
2. The reported production budget is $40 million, and the opening weekend domestic gross was about $20 million. [Entertainment Weekly]
3. As of February 8, 2026, domestic total sat around $35.8 million, with a 48 per cent drop in the second weekend to about $10.0 million. [Rotten Tomatoes Editorial]
4. Worldwide box office was about $53.6 million at that point. [The Numbers]
5. Runtime is listed as 1h 53m by multiple outlets, while some listings round it differently in minutes. In practice, it is a sub-2-hour ride. [20th Century Studios] [Rotten Tomatoes]

The sketch

Scene 1: “Annual Review (Now With Sand)”
Panel: Two silhouettes on a beach. One holds a clipboard labelled “Performance”. The other holds a spear and a dead boar.
Dialogue:
Boss: “We will circle back on your promotion.”
Employee: “Sure. After I circle back with dinner.”

Scene 2: “Immersion Cinema”
Panel: A cinema seat on the island. A projector beam cuts through palm leaves. A popcorn bucket sits next to a pristine sick bag.
Dialogue:
Usher (off-panel): “Enjoy the film and your snacks!”
Audience member: “I would, but the film just declared war on snacks.”

Scene 3: “Authenticity Mode: OFF”
Panel: A giant floating camera lens with a red splash across it, like it has been tagged. Two tiny silhouettes stare up at it.
Dialogue:
Employee: “Are we still pretending this is real?”
Boss: “Yes. Please respect the brand guidelines.”

What to watch, not the show

• Subscription economics: Unlimited passes turn films into low-risk taste tests, not commitments.
• Incentives for escalation: gore and gross-out beats are cheap jolts when you only have two leads and one location.
• Workplace catharsis: audiences will watch almost anything if the boss finally loses the power dynamic for 1h 53min.
• Cinema snack culture: food sales are treated like a second film, even when the main one is trying to make you gag.
• The churn machine: theatrical today, PVOD tomorrow, streaming after that – designed for momentum, not rewatch love.

The Hermit take

A sharp little island nightmare with an office badge still hanging from its neck.
Fun once, forgettable on purpose.

Keep or toss

Keep / Toss
Keep the setup, the pace, and the nasty little power flip.
Toss the “look mum, blood on the lens” realism break, and the food-hostile gross-out flex.

Sources

• IMDb title page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8036976/
• 20th Century Studios film page: https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/send-help
• Rotten Tomatoes film page: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/send_help
• Rotten Tomatoes weekend box office article (Feb 6-8, 2026): https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/weekend-box-office-send-help-leads-slow-super-bowl-weekend/
• The Numbers financials: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Send-Help-%282026%29
• Entertainment Weekly box office coverage: https://ew.com/melania-beats-expectations-while-sam-raimi-send-help-tops-weekend-box-office-11897013