Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.
The Oscar-nominated Rachel McAdams has been lauded for her romantic and comedic turns in films like The Notebook and Mean Girls, but upon teaming up with Sam Raimi, she got the chance to get her hands dirty in a new way. Released in January, Send Help casts McAdams as the deeply lonely, put-upon business strategist, Linda Liddle, who's passed up for her long-sought-after promotion by her pig-headed new boss, Bradley (Dylan O'Brien). However, when their trip to Thailand for a merger goes horrifically wrong and crashes on a deserted island, she's able to turn the tables when it turns out she and Bradley are the only survivors, and she's the only one with the survivalist skills to not just get by, but thrive. The story is chilling, darkly comedic, and fictional, but McAdams' abilities in an emergency are definitely not.
After a tight box office battle with Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach's directorial debut Iron Lung, and a final global haul of $93 million, Collider can now exclusively announce that Raimi's long-awaited return to horror is coming home. 20th Century Studios will release the survival thriller on digital next week on March 24, with a physical release on 4K Ultra HD and DVD following on April 21. Physical copies will also come loaded with over two hours of bonus features, offering a look at early versions of scenes, behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers, and more. In anticipation of its arrival, we can also share a new sneak peek that explores McAdams' very real survival training to be able to ground Linda's expertise in reality.
The footage opens on Send Help's producer and co-founder of Raimi Productions, Zainab Azizi, who said that McAdams spent extensive time with Send Help's survivalist consultant, Ky Furneaux, in pre-production before setting foot on the deserted island. There was no faking her expertise — Furneaux attested to the star's dedication to learning just about everything she'd need if she were really in such a situation, from how to spear a fish to the many uses of a knife, and how to build a shelter from her surroundings. For O'Brien, it added a level of believability to their situation to see his co-star actually being scarily well-prepared for the wilderness. Furneaux remained on set to help the entire team throughout production, but it was empowering for McAdams to truly embody a woman who is finally in her element and finding immense satisfaction in being by far the most competent person in the room.
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Who Else Was Involved in 'Send Help'?
McAdams and O'Brien are the focus for the vast majority of the film, particularly once they're marooned on the deserted island, but they aren't alone. Among the supporting cast are Edyll Ismail, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Dennis Haysbert, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, and Emma Raimi. Unsurprisingly, Raimi's frequent collaborator and Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell also makes a cameo appearance. The director's first original horror project since Drag Me to Hell was penned by screenwriting duo Damien Shannon and Mark Swift of Freddy Vs. Jason and Friday the 13th 2009 fame.
Upon release, Send Help was hailed as a return to form for Raimi, garnering a Certified Fresh 93% from critics and an 87% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Collider's Aidan Kelley was less positive overall in his 6/10 review, but he still said that "It may not be the terrifying marvel some Raimi fans are hoping for, but it's still an entertaining enough watch that makes an SOS unnecessary." For any fans curious about what new insights the home release will provide, all the bonus features on-disc are listed below, including 22 deleted or extended scenes, five featurettes, a commentary track with Raimi and Azizi, and bloopers.
See the Full List of 'Send Help' Bonus Features
Deleted & Extended Scenes:
Bradley’s Office
Franklin at Coffee
Linda in Car
Airplane Intro
Plane Scene Version 1 - Storyboards
Plane Scene with Pre-vis
Plane Scene with Stunt-vis
Finding Water and Bradley
High Ridge 1 and Bamboo
Night of Horror Day of Hunger
Boar Scene Stunt-vis
Boar Scene with Puppet
Waterfall
Long Goodbye
Teaching Montage
Extended Campfire and Bradley Bathing
Extended Cave
Walk and Talk and Dinner
Castration Scene - Storyboards
Bee Cave
Franklin Returns
Audition Tape
Featurettes:
Constructing the Boar Hunt — Sam Raimi offers a deep dive into the creation of SEND HELP’s epic boar hunt scene and the intensive creative process that amplifies the scene’s visceral impact.
From the Office to the Island — Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien detail their transformative filming experience, moving from controlled studios to open beaches. Discover how this shift in environment influenced the development of their characters and the overall production process.
Becoming Linda Liddle — Rachel McAdams, along with the costume and makeup designers, describes the unique journey of creating Linda Liddle's unpolished office appearance and developing her striking, unpredictable survivalist transformation.
Survival Instinct — Follow Rachel McAdams as she learns the fundamentals of surviving in the wild with the help of Survivalist Expert Ky Furneaux.
SOS: Sounds of Survival — Danny Elfman details his creative process and collaboration with Sam Raimi to write a score that elevates the emotional and atmospheric landscape of SEND HELP.
Bloopers:
Check out hilarious outtakes from the making of the movie.
Watch the film with audio commentary by director Sam Raimi and producer Zainab Azizi.
Send Help arrives on digital on March 24 and on 4K Ultra HD and DVD on April 21. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.
Brook Rushton / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
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