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Send Help Reviews: Is Sam Raimi’s Horror Comedy “Disgusting” and “Brilliant”?

Clarisse Loughrey’s “disgusting and brilliant” headline sums up Send Help’s mix of gross-out horror, dark humor, and a survival story about a boss and subordinate whose power dynamic flips.
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Yes—in Clarisse Loughrey’s The Independent review headline, Send Help is “absolutely disgusting and completely brilliant.” That is one critic’s verdict, not a quote from Sam Raimi or a unanimous judgment. The film makes the contrast easy to understand: its survival story serves up grotesque gags and dark humor while Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien play colleagues whose workplace hierarchy flips after a plane crash.

What is Send Help about?

Send Help is an R-rated survival horror-comedy directed by Sam Raimi. After a plane crash, two colleagues are stranded on a deserted island. They must contend with old grievances as well as the immediate struggle to survive; their situation turns into a battle of wills and wits.

McAdams plays Linda Liddle, whose practical survival knowledge becomes newly important when she is stranded with her boss, Bradley Preston, played by O’Brien. The reversal of their workplace power dynamic is central to the film’s tension. In The Atlantic, critic David Sims reads that setup as a fantasy of an overworked subordinate gaining leverage over an “evil boss”—an interpretation of the film’s class and workplace satire, rather than wording from the official synopsis.

Why did a critic call it “disgusting and brilliant”?

The phrase comes from Loughrey’s Independent review headline, published February 3, 2026: “Send Help review – Sam Raimi’s return to horror is absolutely disgusting and completely brilliant.” The headline describes her reaction, not a statement by Raimi or a consensus label.

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#1 Best Overall

What “disgusting” means here

Loughrey points to repeated gross-out imagery, including vomit, bodily fluids, insect and fish innards, and blood. The film’s R rating and grotesque set pieces make it a poor fit for viewers who want their horror comedy to stay restrained or avoid graphic body-based humor.

What “brilliant” means in the review

Loughrey praises the performances by McAdams and O’Brien and Raimi’s mischievous visual energy. She also argues that some digital gore weakens the effects. The two halves of her headline therefore capture both the film’s deliberate excess and a reservation about how some of that excess is realized.

Rank #2
The Help (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy)
  • The Help (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy)

Sims, writing in The Atlantic on January 31, 2026, calls the film a return to Raimi’s horror-comedy roots and praises its “spirited, violent silliness.” His review also emphasizes the changing balance of power between the boss and subordinate.

How are critics and audiences responding?

Aggregator scores are snapshots, not interchangeable grades: Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic use different methods and review samples. The figures below were listed on October 8, 2026, and may change.

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Source and measure Score and sample
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 92% from 301 critic reviews, listed in 2026 and accessed October 8, 2026.
Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter 86% from 2,500+ verified ratings, listed in 2026 and accessed October 8, 2026.
Metacritic Metascore 75 from 40 critic reviews: 34 positive, six mixed, and zero negative, listed in 2026 and accessed October 8, 2026.

Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus highlights the leads and a “viciously clever script.” The Metacritic distribution is also broadly favorable, but individual reservations remain: The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw finds the setup enjoyable while criticizing derivative twists and inconsistent grisliness. The scores indicate a generally positive reception, not agreement on every element.

Who is likely to enjoy Send Help?

It is a stronger match for viewers who enjoy survival stories where the human power struggle matters as much as the danger, and who are comfortable with graphic gross-out humor. Raimi’s horror-comedy style and the leads’ performances are major draws in the reviews cited here. Viewers particularly sensitive to gore—or who dislike digital effects—may be less receptive to its most extreme scenes.

Rank #4
Beautiful Boy [Blu-ray] [2018]
  • The disk has English audio.
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Where can you watch or buy Send Help?

The U.S. theatrical release was January 30, 2026. The 20th Century Studios film page announces digital purchase and ownership on 4K Ultra HD and DVD. Check a retailer for the specific edition, regional compatibility, stock, and current availability.

Streaming availability depends on territory and licensing. Rotten Tomatoes lists Disney+ and Hulu as options; Disney UK announced that the film began streaming exclusively on Disney+ in the UK on May 7, 2026. Check the service in your country for current access.

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Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1
Bestseller No. 2
The Help (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy)
The Help (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy)
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$13.87
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Beautiful Boy [Blu-ray] [2018]
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The disk has English audio.
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Film details

  • Director: Sam Raimi
  • Writers: Damian Shannon and Mark Swift
  • Producers: Sam Raimi and Zainab Azizi
  • Principal cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, and Emma Raimi
  • Rating and runtime: R; 1 hour 53 minutes
  • Genres: 20th Century Studios lists comedy, horror, and thriller; Rotten Tomatoes lists horror, comedy, mystery, and thriller.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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