Sam Raimi's Send Help was originally written as a psychological thriller, but the Evil Dead director couldn't help but make it funny during filming: "A lot of comedy showed up!"

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Sam Raimi's Send Help was originally written as a psychological thriller, but the Evil Dead director couldn't help but make it funny during filming: "A lot of comedy showed up!" News By Emily Garbutt published 25 January 2026

Sam Raimi turned a psychological thriller into a horror comedy with new movie Send Help

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Sam Raimi's new movie Send Help follows a woman and her sexist boss who find themselves fighting for survival on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Sounds pretty grim, right? Well, despite screenwriter duo Damian Shannon and Mark Swift's intentions for the story to be a psychological thriller, Raimi couldn't help but inject a healthy dose of black humor into the movie.

"It's so much in Sam’s wheelhouse. We worked with his editor, his long-time collaborator Bob Murawski, and Bob is a magician. Rachel [McAdams] and Dylan [O'Brien] just gave it their all – we did many takes where a scene either went all the way comedy or all the way dark," producer Zainab Azizi told SFX magazine.

"That's the magic of Bob and Sam; they were able to really fine-tune it in the editing room and find the perfect balance," he continued. "Having Sam as the director, of course there are some bits of horror, given that he is the horror master. And, as you know, [he] loves to blend the genres, so while it was written as a psychological thriller, a lot of comedy showed up!"

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Rachel McAdams plays slighted employee Linda, while Dylan O'Brien is her hateful CEO Bradley. It's Raimi's first time in the director's chair since his 2022 contribution to the MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

"Linda is overworked and undervalued and underpaid. We've all been Linda. Everyone's had a terrible boss," Azizi added. "I just felt that it was a very universal and yet original hook. I brought it to Sam to produce and he loved it so much that he wanted to direct it."

Send Help arrives in theaters on January 30. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best upcoming horror movies on the way in 2026.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Emily GarbuttSocial Links NavigationEntertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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