Sam Raimi is officially returning to the director’s chair with Send Help, a tense, character-driven survival thriller that promises to blend psychological tension with his signature brand of horror. Entertainment Weekly has unveiled exclusive first-look images from the film, offering a chilling preview of what Raimi has in store.
In Send Help, Rachel McAdams stars as Linda Liddle, a brilliant but underestimated strategist at a corporate firm, opposite Dylan O’Brien as Bradley Preston, her arrogant and overconfident supervisor. When a private plane crash leaves them stranded on a desolate island, the two must rely on each other to survive, but their past animosities soon evolve into a brutal psychological and physical power struggle.
What begins as a fight against nature slowly becomes an exploration of ego, respect, and transformation. As Linda’s instincts and intelligence take over, she redefines what survival means, flipping long-held dynamics between power and vulnerability. Raimi has described the story as “an underdog tale” that examines how people change when stripped of comfort and hierarchy, when survival demands evolution.
The film marks Raimi’s first directorial feature since 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and a return to his horror-thriller roots reminiscent of Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell. Send Help is written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason, Friday the 13th), and produced under Raimi Productions alongside Zainab Azizi.
Joining McAdams and O’Brien are Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang, Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, and Emma Raimi. Behind the camera, Raimi reunites with longtime collaborators, cinematographer Bill Pope (The Matrix, Spider-Man 2) and editor Bob Murawski, with an original score by Danny Elfman.
Principal photography began in February 2025, filming across Sydney, Los Angeles, and Thailand, and wrapped in mid-April 2025. The film’s visual design promises a blend of isolation and intensity, with sweeping natural vistas set against claustrophobic emotional tension.
Early images released by EW show McAdams’ Linda fashioning makeshift weapons and tending to a wounded Bradley, hinting at shifting dynamics between the two survivors. According to Raimi, Send Help will not only test its characters’ endurance but question what it truly means to lead when civilization collapses.
Send Help is set for theatrical release on January 30, 2026, via 20th Century Studios, marking one of next year’s most anticipated returns to grounded, character-centered horror.
