Rachel McAdams’ maltreated and underappreciated character battles it out with her boss on a desert island in director Sam Raimi’s new horror-comedy Send Help.
McAdams stars as smart but frumpy Linda Liddle, who has long toiled in the strategy and planning department of a consultancy firm but gets sidelined by her new misogynistic and entitled boss, Bradley (Dylan O’Brien).
Dylan O’Brien and Rachel McAdams at the UK premiere of Send Help on Thursday night
Given a final chance to prove her worth, Linda joins Bradley and his band of brothers on a business trip to Bangkok.
When their plane crashes in a freak storm, Linda and Bradley are the only survivors and find themselves stranded on a remote island.
Send Help blends thriller elements and dark humour
A fan of the TV show Survivor, Linda thrives in the new environment, reversing the power dynamics, and tensions between the two soon turn into a battle of wills.
The film, which opens in Irish cinemas on Thursday, 5 February, features gory scenes and blends thriller elements and dark humour in Raimi’s hallmark style.
“Linda’s been definitely one of the most fun parts I’ve played,” McAdams said at the film’s London premiere on Thursday.
Rachel McAdams – “Linda’s been definitely one of the most fun parts I’ve played”
“There’s just so much to do, from the survival training to being bloodied up like nobody’s business. I definitely had a lot of firsts on this film. And after 25 years, you know, that’s kind of exciting,” the Mean Girls and The Notebook actress said.
O’Brien said the film, which was shot in Thailand, Australia, and Los Angeles, was less physically demanding for its leads than it appears on screen.
Dylan O’Brien – “It was a blast”
“I think it was a lot more fun than maybe you’re thinking,” he said.
“I guess that’s the movie magic of it. It looks really miserable, and we’re having all this stuff thrown onto us and coming out of us, but it was a blast.”
A fan of the TV show Survivor, Linda thrives in the new environment, reversing the power dynamics with boss Bradley, and tensions between the two soon turn into a battle of wills
Raimi, who directed from a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, said he hoped the film would keep audiences on their toes.
“I really wanted to follow the screenplay, which suggested it could be a really good audience manipulation film where they just don’t know what’s happening next,” the Evil Dead and Spider-Man filmmaker said.
(L-R) Director Sam Raimi, stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, and producer Zainab Azizi attend the Send Help UK premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London on Thursday night
“It’s a lot of fun to be in the crowd when you’re invested in the characters and you’re trying to figure out which way it’s going to go,” he added.
Source: Reuters