Send Help Soars to One of Sam Raimi’s Best Rotten Tomatoes Scores Ever

Sam Raimi went back to the horror well, and critics are basically throwing rose petals at the shoreline. Early reactions to his new survival shocker 'Send Help' are in, and the numbers are already flirting with his career bests.

Quick snapshot

• Rotten Tomatoes: 92% from 51 reviews at the moment, down slightly from an initial 94% but still one of Raimi's top scores
• For context: that puts it just a hair behind his highest-rated movie, 'Spider-Man 2,' which sits at 93% as of now
• Cast: Rachel McAdams, Chris Pang, Dylan O'Brien, and Dennis Haysbert
• Premise: two colleagues survive a plane crash, end up stranded on a deserted island, and have to outsmart everything trying to finish the job
• The pitch floating around: think Rob Reiner's 'Misery' mashed up with Robert Zemeckis's 'Cast Away'
• Raimi angle: first time he has directed a feature-length horror film since 2009's 'Drag Me to Hell'; he previously made the first three 'Evil Dead' movies (including 1987's 'Evil Dead II' and 1992's 'Army of Darkness' alongside 'The Evil Dead'), directed the 'Ash vs Evil Dead' pilot, and produced the Starz series

Critics are into it

The early write-ups are extremely enthusiastic, with a lot of love for Raimi dusting off the old chaos engine. A few highlights:

"You can probably figure out where the movie is headed, but that doesn't make the journey any less fun. The bloody battle between Linda and a wild boar provides the first big thrills of 2026."
- Odie Henderson, Boston Globe

"Controlled delirium microwaved on high heat. At 66, Raimi reminds us who he was when he made horror-comedy history with 'Evil Dead II,' and more importantly, why his voice still matters."
- Alison Foreman, IndieWire

"Boasts an audacious concept that is superbly realized by Raimi's filmmaking, which milks every bizarre situation for all it's worth."
- Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

"Insane ride... Raimi's remarkable style, with energy, humor, and pure chaos infused into his horror, is all over this film."
- Jonathan Sim, ComingSoon

So what is 'Send Help' actually doing?

It sounds simple on paper: two coworkers crash, crawl onto a deserted island, then try to not die. The hook, if these reviews are any indication, is Raimi turning that survival setup into a giddy, blood-slick playground. The Boston Globe even calls out a set piece involving someone named Linda vs. a wild boar as an early-2026 benchmark moment. That is exactly the sort of detail only Raimi would underline in red ink and then draw a smiley face next to.

The bigger picture

Scores always move in the first wave, but a 92% with 51 critics is no fluke. If it holds near there, 'Send Help' lands right behind 'Spider-Man 2' on Raimi's all-time leaderboard. Between the survival-thriller spine, the 'Misery'/'Cast Away' DNA, and the critics saying he brought the old-school snap back, this one has real 'event horror' energy.