Send Help director Sam Raimi dissects the film’s instantly iconic boar scene in grisly detail, and from multiple points of view.
During a behind-the-scenes exclusive, legendary director Sam Raimi broke down three of the key elements that went into producing the infamous boar scene from Send Help. “Danny Elfman was our composer, and he created a very suspenseful piece here,” Raimi explained. “It really created a boost to the picture.”
The director added more depth and detail when explaining the scene’s soundscape. “Like when [Rachel McAdams’ Linda is] walking on the trail, there’s quiet suspense, the main character doesn’t want to be heard by the creature she’s hunting, and then suddenly she accidentally steps on a little twig. It snaps, and the jungle goes quiet, and the music is right in tune with her, it stops, and listens too,” Raimi continued.
Raimi went on to explain that, while the set where the boar hunt sequence was shot was indeed part of an Australian park, much of what audiences saw on screen was created by a team led by production designer Ian Gracey. “He really had to go in and clean out the brush, and then put in our own more tropical trees, because Australia was doubling for Thailand, and it isn’t quite as tropical,” Raimi noted.
Raimi also sang high praises of the work of BAFTA and Emmy Award-nominated cinematographer Bill Pope, who developed what Raimi hailed as “boar-vision” for the film. Raimi described the technique as “this great lens combination, but you’ll see it on the boar shots, when it’s kind of gliding through the woods. It looks a little different than anything I’ve ever seen before.” Raimi went so far as to state that audiences “could, for a moment, experience what it was like to charge as a wild creature through the jungle.”
What Is Send Help All About — And Why Is It Raimi’s Biggest R-Rated Success Yet?
Directed by Raimi from a screenplay by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, Send Help is a survival horror experience unlike any most viewers have ever seen. Send Help stars Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle, a corporate strategist who ends up stranded on a secluded island alongside her overtly entitled and abrasive new boss, Dylan O’Brien’s Bradley Preston, following an explosive plane crash.
As the only survivors of the crash, Linda and Bradley must scrounge for survival, something the former is infinitely more equipped for than the latter. Unsurprisingly, this drastic shift to the usual status quo between them drives tensions to a violent and terrifying new point, leading to plenty of betrayal and bloodshed throughout the film’s runtime.
Upon its release, Send Help was met with rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, with the film currently boasting a near-perfect 93% “Certified Fresh” rating via review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as averaged across more than 270 verified critical reviews. To top things off, Send Help broke a new record for Raimi personally, becoming the auteur’s highest-grossing R-rated feature after bringing in more than $94 million at the box office.
Send Help is slated to arrive on digital platforms on Mar. 24. Send Help will be available in both 4K Ultra HD and DVD on Apr. 21.