Send Help

Released January 30, 2026, Send Help marks Sam Raimi's triumphant return to the survival horror genre that made his name, and it is everything fans of his early work could have hoped for: gleefully gonzo, physically punishing, technically precise, and utterly committed to its own demented internal logic. Raimi directs Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien, and Dennis Haysbert in a scenario that the filmmakers have been deliberately coy about describing in pre-release materials — which is as it should be, because half of Send Help's considerable power comes from the audience's complete ignorance of what is about to happen to these characters. What can be said is that the film operates in the tradition of classic survival horror while subverting enough of its conventions to feel genuinely fresh. McAdams, in particular, delivers a performance of controlled escalating terror that earns every moment the camera gives her. Haysbert brings gravitas and an unexpected vein of dark comedy to his role. O'Brien provides the relatable panic that audience identification requires. Send Help earned 92% from Rotten Tomatoes critics — the third-highest critics score on this list — and a strong 86% from audiences. Its Metacritic score of 75 reflects near-universal critical enthusiasm for what Raimi has achieved on a production budget of approximately $40 million. That budget discipline is part of the story: Send Help has grossed roughly $94 million worldwide as of late June 2026, representing a return of more than double its production cost on the strength of word-of-mouth recommendation rather than marketing muscle. It is the kind of modest, precise, filmmaker-driven commercial success that the industry needs more of, and its position at #4 on this list reflects both the quality of its craft and the audience's clear enthusiasm for what Raimi delivered.