Send Help (in theaters)

Fans of Sam Raimi’s horror movies like grossness, almost slapstick combat, plenty of weird humor, and tons of bodily fluid spatter.

Though it’s not quite a horror movie, “Send Help” includes all of the above in healthy doses. If you’re a Raimi fan it’s probably deeply satisfying, especially with excellent performances from both Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. This is the most Sam Raimi he’s been in a while. 

If you’re not a big fan of the Raimi formula, however, the 20 different directions it tries to take all at once are too much. There’s a sexual element that comes off as unsettling in a much less entertaining way than the rest of the movie, and the surprise twist was already used in a very similar movie released in 2022. It can be fun at times, but would have been more fun if it had been pared back a little. 

The movie starts in the office, where McAdams is a mousy, “Survivor”-obsessed accountant who is denied a promised promotion by her new, incredibly demeaning boss (O’Brien). When they both survive a particularly gruesome plane crash and wash up on a desert island, however, her survival skills make it so she’s the one in charge. 

It’s a fun idea for anyone who’s ever imagined murdering their boss, but it turns out she also kind of wants to sleep with him for some reason. It’s only one of the far too many relationship dynamics they explore between the two – many of which involve violence – but it comes off as less psycho-sexual than a sour note that suggests unfortunate things about Raimi’s view of women (I’m looking at you, “Drag Me to Hell.”)

Of course, the rest of the movie makes it clear that Raimi will happily abandon consistent or believable characterization if it means increasing the violence. For some fans, it might be worth the trade. 

Grade: Two stars

Shelter (in theaters)

For some people, a Jason Statham movie is cinematic comfort food. 

If you’re on that list, you have to check out “Shelter.” It has everything you could want in a Statham movie – great fight scenes, bad guys who need to die, a desperate car chase, Statham staring manfully into the distance, and proof that a soft heart beats beneath that gruff exterior. In this case, that proof is a preteen girl who allows Statham a delightful turn as a reluctant father figure. 

It’s hardly a spoiler to say that Statham’s character has a secret Special Forces past, though it’s slightly more believable here than it was in his 2024 hit “The Beekeeper.” The movie is just as satisfying in its own way, though there’s less karmic justice and more understated but endearing emotion. There’s also plenty of the kind of artful violence Statham is so very good at. 

One person dies who I wish didn’t, as well as a brave and loyal dog. Other than that, “Shelter” is everything a Jason Statham fan could hope for. 

Grade: Three and a half stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at [email protected].

Credit for photo ©20th Century Studios