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(director: Sam Raimi; screenwriters: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift; cinematographer: Bill Pope; editor: Bob Murawski; music: Danny Elfman; cast: Rachel McAdams (Linda Liddle), Dylan O’Brien (Bradley Preston), Edyll Ismail (Zuri), Xavier Samuel (Donovan), Chris Pang (Chase), Emma Raimi (River), Dennis Haysbert (Franklin), Thaneth Warakulnukroh (Boat Captain), Bruce Campbell (Bradley’s Father); Runtime: 113; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi; 20th Century Studios; 2026)
“Modestly budgeted and modestly refreshing horror-comedy.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The talented Sam Raimi (“Drag Me to Hell”/”Spider-Man 3″) directs this modestly budgeted and modestly refreshing horror-comedy, as a gutsy survival thriller that’s smartly written by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift.
A small private plane crashes in turbulence. The only survivors are the dowdy, 40ish, single, strategic analyst in a male-run consulting firm, Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), and her bossy new boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), who inherited the position with the sudden death of his kind father (Bruce Campbell).
Linda and Bradley are stranded on a deserted tropical island desert in the gulf of Thailand. The obnoxious Bradley has a broken leg and depends on Linda for support-as now the tables are turned from work, and she has the upper-hand.
The smarmy Bradley is engaged to the sexy, shallow and toxic Zuri (Edyll Ismail).
Preston’s dad promised to make Linda a VP in the firm, but Bradley dislikes her because she’s sloppy and so annoyingly smart. He therefore promotes instead his incompetent and inexperienced old frat brother pal Donovan (Xavier Samuel) whom he feels more comfortable with.
Bradley only invited the underappreciated Linda on this business conference trip held at a ritzy foreign locale, to appease her for not getting the promotion. She’s pissed during the flight when she sees him, Donovan and the other company men mocking her audition tape for “Survivor,” which they’ve found on the web showing her being rejected.
The survival scenes on the beach are the gist of the film and are filled with twists that are not all believable.
What is believable is the gritty performances by McAdams and O’Brien fighting a battle of wills that remind me of those old school studio romantic comedies back in the day that had charm and wit.
REVIEWED ON 2/4/2026 GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com