Alex B Cann film column - 05/02/26

Sharp writing, a couple of genuinely outstanding jump scares, tons of gore, and loads of laughs...Send Help is my film of the year so far. Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien end up stuck together on a remote island somewhere off the Thailand coast, after a plane crash claims the lives of all their colleagues. So far, so dramatic.

McAdams is Linda Liddle, who spends a ton of time on the sofa watching reality TV show Survivor at home with just her pet bird for company, when she's not being overlooked by promotion at work. Liddle is a whizz with numbers, but is a source of ridicule amid a toxic culture of masculinity and misogyny.

The tables are turned after she and her boss end up marooned together, and what follows is a brilliantly scripted power play. McAdams' character utilises all the survival skills she's learned from the telly, including starting fires and building a camp. After a fallout with Brad, he ends up eating a beetle, in a bid to prove to her that he can fend for himself, with hilarious consequences. One scene involving Linda hunting a wild boar will stick long in the memory.

The humour was right up my street, and whilst it's a fine balancing act, director Sam Raimi walked the tightrope between horror and comedy perfectly. McAdams was hilarious, and there's a great blend of subterfuge, double-crossing, and treachery. If you've ever had an awful boss, you'll particularly relish the sweet moments of payback.

Ralph Fiennes recently said: "You have to keep reinventing and discovering...otherwise, we're quick to smell the cliche". He was outstanding in his return as Dr. Ian Kelson in 28 Years Later : The Bone Temple. After the controversial ending of the last film a mere seven months ago, this film sets us up nicely for part 3, that I really hope is still in the pipeline, despite its disappointing takings.

As with the last film, the cinematography is outstanding, and a scene involving Iron Maiden's The Number Of The Beast left me lost for words! Director Nia DCosta has pulled it out of the bag, and this deserves to be seen on the big screen, not whilst scrolling on the sofa. "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it". Original horror like this and Sinners is keeping the genre interesting and inventive, and we should celebrate that.

Is This Thing On? bases itself loosely on how scouser John Bishop saved his marriage through stand-up comedy. Will Arnett plays a lost soul who chronicles the breakdown of his marriage at open mic nights, until one night, his wife discovers his new hobby when she's in the audience listening to his tales of bedding another woman, and how he misses her. A bloated running time and sloppy writing blot its copy book at times, but this is ultimately a rather sweet story of an attempt to save a relationship from crashing and burning, and the challenges of growing old together.