Send Help, a psychological thriller from director/producer Sam Raimi, expertly balances horror with dark comedy as it explores the escalating twists and turns that unfold when overlooked and undervalued employee Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) and her dismissive, arrogant new boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) find themselves stranded alone on a deserted island.
Send Help is based on a screenplay by writing duo Damian Shannon and Mark Swift
Shannon and Swift, like Raimi, have a deep-rooted appreciation for mixed-genre storytelling. As such, they had been actively developing ideas with Raimi in mind since the early stages of their career. “One of the reasons our taste is what it is, is because in our formative years we watched a lot of Sam Raimi movies,” Shannon says. “You know a Sam Raimi movie when you see it.”
“We heard that Sam wanted to do an elevated thriller-horror,” Swift continues. “We looked in our bag, found our Linda Liddle concept, and put the pitch and screenplay together.”
They brought their pitch for “Send Help” to Raimi by way of Zainab Azizi, his trusted producing partner and president of his production company, Raimi Productions. The idea of a female antihero–rare enough–and unpredictable shifting power dynamics was the core concept.
“We developed this pitch for Sam,” Azizi explains. “It has scares, laughs and the chills and thrills that Sam loves to do. He is all about expecting the unexpected.”
As Raimi puts it, “Zainab came to me and said, ‘I just heard this story, and it’s great. We have to get involved with it.’ I met with the writers and Zainab, and we heard their pitch. It was great, as she promised. I was excited by it, excited about the story and the character possibilities. That’s really what drew me to it.”
“I also loved the ‘What if?’ aspect of the screenplay,” continues Raimi. “What if a woman was cheated by the boys’ club at work, held down by corporate management and a terrible, mean boss who treats her unfairly? What if she were unable to succeed because of the way things inherently are in our society? And what if they crash-landed on an island and the roles were reversed? She knows how to survive in the wild. It’s her hobby, but all Bradley knows is corporate politics and management. He knows nothing useful when it comes to surviving in the real world. We learn who is capable and who is not.”
“Sam saw how much was in these two very different characters colliding,” Swift adds. “He loves big arcs, and where Linda starts in this movie and where she ends are very different places. Likewise for Bradley. I think Sam was excited about the challenge of taking the audience on this ride in terms of who they’re rooting for and what kind of surprises lie in between.”
The initial draw for Azizi was the idea of rooting for a relatable underdog. “My vision was heavily focused on Linda Liddle as a character and her lifestyle in the office. We’ve all been Linda in some form. We’ve worked really hard and been underappreciated, and it’s time for some justice. I attached myself as producer from pitch, and we developed it into a full-length feature.
Sam’s brilliant vision brought it to life by 10 and made it into the kooky, wild roller-coaster ride that it is today. It took a couple of years, and now we’re here.”
“Zainab had the screenplay under her arm,” says Shannon. “She had her machete, and she chopped through the Hollywood jungle, taking this where it needed to go.”
SAM RAIMI (DIRECTOR, PRODUCER)
Director, writer and producer Sam Raimi first rose to prominence with the beloved cult classic trilogy The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Raimi quickly established himself as a genre-bending innovator, directing early-career hits including Darkman, The Quick and the Dead, A Simple Plan, For the Love of the Game, and The Gift. Raimi notably directed the blockbuster Spider-Man trilogy, the supernatural horror-comedy hit Drag Me to Hell; and the 2022 Marvel Studios tentpole Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Raimi’s genre-defining producer credits include The Grudge, Don’t Breathe, and the critically acclaimed Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead, a sequel to his The Evil Dead trilogy.
SCREENWRITERS DAMIAN SHANNON AND MARK SWIFT
Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are an American screenwriting duo known for their long‑standing partnership in genre filmmaking, particularly horror and horror‑comedy. They met while studying at the University of Southern California and quickly discovered a shared instinct for high‑concept, commercially driven storytelling. Their breakthrough came with Freddy vs. Jason (2003), the long‑anticipated crossover that re‑energised both franchises and established them as reliable voices in studio horror. They went on to contribute to DreamWorks’ animated hit Shark Tale (2004), write the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th, and expand into action‑comedy with Baywatch (2017). Beyond produced work, they have developed a wide slate of projects for major studios, including Disney’s planned Aladdin prequel Genies, as well as adaptations of Danger Girl, Hawaiian Dick, and Power & Glory. Their more recent work includes Send Help (2026), a darkly comic psychological thriller shaped by their long‑standing admiration for Sam Raimi. Known for blending humour with tension, revitalising established properties, and navigating both franchise and original material, Shannon and Swift remain a distinctive creative partnership in contemporary genre cinema.
