Send Help Confirms That Sam Raimi Does One Thing Better Than All Other Horror Directors

"Send Help" marks only the fourth theatrically released feature film that Sam Raimi has directed since 2009. In the last 17 years, Raimi has only helmed "Drag Me to Hell," "Oz the Great and Powerful," and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." He's kept pretty busy outside of directing: producing more than a dozen movies, overseeing production of "Ash vs. Evil Dead," and even making a story for the Quibi series "50 States of Fright." He's also been raising his five children, so we can grant him some grace when he takes some time off directing.

But "Send Help," now in theaters, is wholly welcome. Raimi's new horror/comedy tells the story of Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), a hard-working office denizen in her company's Planning & Strategy Department who is long overdue for a promotion. Linda, however, has a newer, younger boss named Bradley (Dylan O'Brien) who is disgusted by Linda's mousy appearance and tuna lunches. He callously denies her a promotion, preferring to surround himself with golfing brodogs and comely babes. 

The tables turn when Bradley and Linda, while flying to a business trip, crash land on a remote tropical island. Linda has long been a "Survivor" enthusiast, and knows exactly how to live on a desert island. Bradley has no clue, and is suddenly helpless. The bulk of "Send Help" involves the shifting power dynamics between Linda and Bradley, with Linda elated to be powerful and Bradley resenting the hell out of it. 

Raimi keeps the pace swift and the tone light. It's just as funny as it is horrifying. And, most importantly, it's gross and gooey. We'll get into the revolting details below, but, golly, Raimi sure knows how to film goop better than any modern filmmaker.

Some examples of Raimi's glorious skills with goo: early in "Send Help," Linda realizes that she and Bradley need protein. Luckily, she has spotted a few boars around the island. Linda has never slain a boar before, but she seems almost eager to try. In a standout sequence, Linda slashes the boar open, and is caked with its blood. As she stabs the boar, it unleashes a fusillade of porcine snot directly into her face. Linda screams as the blood and snot ooze down her face. It's awesome. 

After so many years of spooky PG-13-rated haunting movies à la "The Conjuring," it's refreshing to get a horror sequence so grossly visceral. Some of the goo is realized through CGI, but a lot of it is clearly just Rachel McAdams being hosed down by stage blood. 

Then, later in the film, there's a scene wherein Linda has to vomit (I will leave the circumstances of that scene for you to discover). When she vomits, it happens copiously in Bradley's face. Repeatedly. Spew after spew. It's pretty gross. Raimi's fans may be reminded of the facial vomit scene from the filmmaker's own "Drag Me to Hell." It's not a Raimi film, it seems, without someone being puked upon. Perhaps that's what his "Spider-Man" movies lacked. 

There was a time when Peter Jackson might have challenged Raimi to the title of best gore filmmaker, but that was back in the early 1990s, when Jackson was still making weird, gross horror movies like "Braindead" (a.k.a. "Dead Alive"). Raimi, meanwhile, has returned to film to reclaim all his titles. "Send Help" possesses a healthy pinch of the filmmaker's trademark horror mayhem, and it's great to see. Let's hope Raimi makes more soon.