If you’re a Sam Raimi fan, there are several classic sequences from the horror legend that stand out. Those bone-shaking POV shots through the woods in The Evil Dead; Ash battling his own possessed hand in Evil Dead 2; the Doc Ock surgery massacre in Spider-Man 2; that jaw-dropping punchline to Drag Me To Hell. So, the prospect of brand new prime Sam Raimi is a very exciting thing indeed – and, as the director tells Empire, that’s exactly what Send Help brings.
Raimi’s latest film – after Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which itself followed a long break from directing – sees Rachel McAdams’ downtrodden Linda get to turn the tables on her horrible boss, Dylan O’Brien’s Bradley, when the pair are stranded on a desert island together. It’s the perfect destination for things to get a little… wild. “It’s a battle of wills,” Raimi enthuses to Empire. “Its theme is that of power dynamics being turned on their head. The fellas [writing duo Damian Shannon and Mark Swift] pitched the story, and I laughed and couldn’t believe they were doing this. It was really outrageous, even for me, who makes outrageous horror films.”
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Expect a bit of a taste of that Evil Dead chaos then – though, here the madness lies within. “There is a similarity,” he considers, “but it’s not some outside force they’re dealing with here. What they’re coming to terms with is who they really are. And as the layers start shedding, we see certain conflicts emerge.” Drag us back to hell, Sam.