“I don’t know.” These three simple words perfectly encapsulate my experience with Send Help. Is it a bad film? No. Is it good? Not even.
Let’s start by saying that it’s not a horror film, but a thriller. Just because Raimi has a hand in it, with his classic auteur jump scares, isn’t enough to call it a full-fledged horror film.
The film’s biggest problem is its excessive didacticism. While in the early scenes everything is hinted at through shots reminiscent of Rear Window, later on, the same information is repeated at least three more times, as if to ensure that even the most distracted viewer will absorb it.
As a result, the revelations and twists lose their bite: they aren’t real surprises. Everything is made explicit, and there’s no subtext that, on a second viewing, would allow the film to be reinterpreted in a new light.
I encountered several problems with its internal logic. The relationship between action and reaction often doesn’t make sense, and various illogicalities compromised my immersion in the narrative (without spoiling anything, just think of the fruit basket). The time management is also confusing: for some elements, it feels like days go by, while for others, everything seems to be resolved in the space of 24 hours.
Aesthetically, the film is inconsistent; in the first ten minutes, we see super close-ups à la The Substance, but they disappear by the eleventh minute. There are no memorable shots or camera movements worthy of Raimi’s iconic style.
It’s a shame. The basic idea is good, but the execution decidedly less so. I’m probably so harsh on this because it’s Sam Raimi’s work; if it had been any other director, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more. Here, unfortunately, Raimi seems tired and the final result suffers greatly.
