The Setup Is Brilliant
Here's the premise: Rachel McAdams plays an undervalued, disrespected employee. Her boss (played by Dylan O'Brien) in what looks like deliciously awful boss mode. Treats her like garbage. Standard toxic workplace dynamics.
Then their plane crashes on a deserted island.
And suddenly, all those corporate hierarchies, all that office politics, all that "I'm your superior" nonsense? Gone. Meaningless. Because survival skills matter more than job titles, and McAdams' character has them while her boss absolutely does not.
The power flips. Completely. And the trailer makes it clear McAdams' character is going to make her boss pay for every dismissive comment, every demeaning moment, every ounce of disrespect.
It's Misery meets Cast Away meets every revenge fantasy anyone who's ever had a terrible boss has dreamed about.
Sam Raimi Is Back
This is Sam Raimi returning to his horror roots after years of big IP franchises like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. And you can feel his DNA all over this trailer - the dark humor, the stylized violence, the gleeful subversion of power dynamics.
Raimi built his career on Evil Dead - scrappy, inventive, darkly funny horror. Send Help looks like he's channeling that energy again, just with a much bigger budget and Rachel McAdams covered in blood.
There's something viscerally satisfying about watching a master of horror return to what he does best. And this trailer suggests he hasn't lost a step.
The Role Reversal Is Everything
What makes this trailer iconic isn't just the island survival premise. It's watching the complete role reversal play out.
McAdams goes from meek, undervalued employee to blood-soaked island survivor who holds all the power. Her boss goes from commanding authority figure to terrified, helpless dependent.
The trailer shows us glimpses of McAdams' character doing increasingly disturbing things while her boss realizes she's completely at her mercy. And the horror on the boss's face as it dawns on her that this woman she treated like dirt now controls whether she lives or dies? Chef's kiss.
"You are stuck with an asshole boss, just like I was."
That line lands like a knife. Because it's not just about survival anymore. It's about justice. Payback. Years of workplace trauma being repaid in the most extreme circumstances possible.
Why This Works
The Send Help trailer works because it taps into something universal: everyone has had a terrible boss. Everyone has fantasized about seeing their workplace tormentor get what's coming to them.
Obviously, we don't actually want to torture our bad bosses on desert islands (legally required disclaimer). But watching it happen in a Sam Raimi horror film? That's cathartic in the best possible way.
It's the same reason Office Space became a cult classic. The same reason Horrible Bosses worked. We love seeing workplace power dynamics subverted, especially when it happens to people who've abused that power.
Send Help just takes it to its logical, horrifying extreme. And adds blood. Lots of blood.
One Perfect Line
"We're not in the office anymore, Bradley."
That's the line that defines the entire film. It's a threat. It's a promise. It's the moment the scales tip irreversibly.
It tells you everything you need to know: this woman has been pushed too far, the rules have changed, and someone is going to pay.
The trailer could have been twice as long and not sold me any harder than that single moment did.
Sam Raimi directing Rachel McAdams in a workplace revenge horror thriller on a deserted island? I'm there. Opening night. Front row.
One line. That's all it took.