Sightlines · reception
How Send Help was received
2026 · Sam Raimi · Send Help on Sightlines
The arc
Too new for a reappraisal arc — it landed in January 2026 as Raimi's first horror film in 17 years, was greeted as a gleeful return to form, and quietly overperformed with about $94M on a $40M budget.
What’s debated
The early fight is over the tonal whiplash — whether the gonzo swings between survival thriller, gross-out horror and workplace dark comedy are vintage Raimi or a film that can't pick a lane.
Its footprint
The test-screening reaction calling it 'a hilariously mean, nasty little f---er' made the rounds online and set the tone for how people talk about it — less a desert-island movie than a boss-from-hell movie.
Where it stands
Fresh out of the gate, but already slotted by horror fans as the true heir to Drag Me to Hell — the mean, funny Raimi they'd waited 17 years to get back.
Did you know? It's Sam Raimi's first horror feature since Drag Me to Hell (2009), and it reunites him with Rachel McAdams after directing her in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Named by the director
- Misery (1990) — The pitch cited it directly; Raimi says he refused to rewatch it and deliberately took 'the other path' whenever he noticed similarities.
- Cast Away (2000) — Also named in the pitch — Raimi called it a classic but consciously steered away from copying it.