Sam Raimi’s “Viciously Clever” New Horror Movie Creeps Up on His 17-Year-Old Supernatural Thriller

6 days ago 13

Rachel McAdams stood in the thick rainforest looking worried in 'Send Help'

Published Feb 5, 2026, 3:19 PM EST

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

With the low-budget indie flick The Evil Dead, director Sam Raimi burst onto the horror scene like a zombie's hand through the ground back in 1981, cementing himself with the even-better sequel as a master of his craft. However, until recently, Raimi hadn't made a horror movie for 17 years, with his past two films, Oz the Great and Powerful and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, feeling like a corporate shell of his once-independent eye.

Thankfully, Raimi's return to horror last weekend with the thrilling Send Help has been an enormous triumph by almost every metric. Despite competition from the likes of James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash, Jason Statham's new action thriller Shelter, and YouTuber Markiplier's Iron Lung, Send Help topped the U.S. box office charts with an impressive opening domestic haul of $19.1 million. Following another two days of data, Send Help has now earned a global haul of $31.1 million, and promises to keep climbing as it opens in more international territories next weekend.

This early sprint to the $30 million mark is notable because of the box office haul of Raimi's last horror effort as a director, Drag Me to Hell. Released in 2009, the movie spent 10 weeks in theaters and finished its theatrical run with $91 million. This means that, in just five days, Send Help has already accumulated a third of Drag Me to Hell's total. It should be noted that Send Help has been released in 1,000 more locations in the U.S. and benefits from an increase in ticket prices compared to 2009, but that doesn't take away from the glorious reality that the box office currently boasts a brilliant Raimi horror movie at the top of its charts.

Critics Adore 'Send Help'

Starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as co-workers stranded on an island as the only survivors of a plane crash, Send Help is a survival horror packed with horror detail. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has become Raimi's highest-rated film in over two decades, tying the 93% score of 2004's Spider-Man 2. The critics' consensus reads, "Putting director Sam Raimi's penchant for diabolical mayhem to great use, Send Help doesn't need any assistance in thrills thanks to a very game Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, along with a viciously clever script."

Send Help is available in theaters now. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates.