Send Help Ending Shocks with Island Survival Twists

Linda Liddle and her boss Bradley Preston survive a plane crash and end up alone on a remote island in the Gulf of Thailand. The film, directed by Sam Raimi, hit theaters on January 30 via 20th Century Studios after premiering in Los Angeles on January 21. Rachel McAdams plays Linda, a company strategist, and Dylan O'Brien stars as Bradley, the new CEO who denies her a promised promotion.

Background

Linda works in the planning and strategy department at a financial management firm. Her late boss promised her a promotion, but Bradley, his son and the new CEO, gives it to his college friend Donovan instead. Bradley sees Linda as lacking confidence and not fitting the executive mold. He plans to move her to a low-level job.

To close a merger deal, Bradley takes Linda, Donovan, and two executives on a flight to Bangkok. During the trip, Donovan plays an old video of Linda trying out for the reality show Survivor. She shows off her survival skills in the tape. A storm hits, the plane's engine fails, and it crashes into the sea.

Linda wakes up on the beach. She finds Bradley alive but with a bad ankle injury from knee to foot. No one else survives. Linda builds a shelter, finds food and water, and keeps them going. She once studied survival from books and TV, which pays off right away.

Bradley starts off bossing her around like at work. Linda leaves him alone for two days in the sun with no water. He nearly dies of thirst before she comes back. After that, he tries to make his own camp but fails. He lets her take charge.

Key Details

Linda spots a rescue boat but hides from it. She wants to stay on the island. Over time, she gets stronger and more sure of herself. Bradley learns basic survival from her.

One night, they drink homemade booze from island plants. Linda shares a story from her past. She was married to an abusive man. One night, she let him drive drunk after a fight. He died in a car crash.

Bradley seems to soften. He offers to cook dinner. But he puts poison berries in the food to kill her. He builds a raft to escape while she dies. The raft breaks in the waves. Linda, who took less poison than he thought, saves him from drowning.

Rising Tension and Violence

Linda uses octopus venom to paralyze Bradley. She pretends to cut off his manhood as payback. She says her job is done anyway, so she has no reason to leave the island. Bradley gives in to her control.

Then Bradley's fiancée Zuri shows up. She hired a boat captain to search for him after others gave up. Linda lures Zuri to a cliff and pushes her off to protect her island life. The captain falls too.

Bradley finds Zuri's body on the beach. He confronts Linda, who admits it. They fight hand-to-hand. Linda loses sight in one eye but stabs him in the chest and takes his fiancée's ring.

Bradley runs to the other side of the island. Linda has known about a luxury beach house there for weeks. It's stocked with food and supplies. Inside, she points a shotgun at him. He begs, saying he loves her now and wants to stay forever. He grabs the gun, but it's empty. Linda beats him to death with a golf club.

The golf club ties back to work. Bradley denied her the promotion partly because she did not play golf, a sport his buddy enjoyed.

"Linda becomes the boss on the island, turning the tables completely on Bradley." – Film crew member close to production

The movie builds from workplace bullying to full revenge. Danny Elfman did the music. Raimi produced with Zainab Azizi. JJ Hook executive produced. Writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift crafted the script.

Other cast includes Edyll Ismail as Zuri and Xavier Samuel as Donovan. The story mixes dark humor with horror. Early scenes show office tension. The crash is intense. Island life brings bloody fights and twists.

What This Means

Send Help flips power at work into life-or-death control. Linda starts weak but ends dominant. Bradley bullies her over looks, skills, and gender. Stranded, she uses smarts to survive and punish.

The film shows how far people go when old rules break. Rescue chances come but get blocked. Zuri tries to save Bradley, but Linda stops her. The house reveal shows the island is not empty as thought.

Viewers see workplace revenge play out extreme. Linda's Survivor knowledge saves them at first, then kills. Bradley's poison plot fails. His final plea fails too.

The ending leaves no loose ends. Linda stays alone with supplies. No one knows her crimes. The story warns about grudges and power shifts. It fits Raimi's style of thrills and moral turns.

Critics note the R rating for violence, like blood sprays and beatings. Vomit and cuts add grit. The pace keeps tension high from crash to club.

For fans, it marks Raimi's return to small-scale horror comedy. McAdams and O'Brien carry the two-person show. Island sets make every move matter.

Theaters show it wide now. Early reviews call it a solid thriller with surprises. Box office tracks strong for January release.