A gleefully twisted tale of ambition and survival

It’s not often nowadays that you see a movie that’s genuinely surprising. But that’s exactly what the new film from director Sam Raimi,Send Help, has to offer. A film like this is best seen knowing as little about the plot as possible.

Which leaves me in the unenviable position of having to describe why this film works so well while not giving the game away. Let’s start here: Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) has worked diligently at her financial management company for seven years, proving herself to be among the most knowledgeable and hardworking people on staff. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could make this a reality and now his smug nepo-baby son Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) has taken over the company and promised his equally smug college buddy Donovan that vice-president position.

Not only is Donovan clearly incompetent but he also shamelessly passes off Linda’s work as his own. So Linda has all the reason in the world to be pissed. After she works up the nerve to confront Bradley, he challenges her to join him and a few other executives, including Donovan, on a business trip to Bangkok to show him she has the skills to network and make an impression on potential clients.

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And then what is supposed to be a smooth ride on a private plane ends in tragedy as the plane crashes leaving only a few survivors stranded on a deserted island. Enough said. This all takes place in the first thirty minutes of the film and Raimi, best known for directing Tobey Maguire’sSpidermantrilogy, does a great job of taking the story in some unexpected directions.

Though she’s best known for playing the affable love interest in romantic movies likeThe Notebook andThe Time Traveller’s Wife, she brings a quirkiness and unpredictability to the Linda character that’s compelling, if at times uncomfortable, from start to finish. Dylan O’Brien gives a turn that’s at times detestable and at other times pitiable as Bradley, the entitled heir to a fortune, who can’t seem to realise when he’s in over his head.

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