What starts as a comedy, boomerangs into a horror flick. Rachel McAdams stars as the unlikely lead playing a dorky, but smart, loyal employee who can analyze numbers like nobody else. Director Sam Raimi ( 3 Spiderman Movies, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) with Writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift turn this film into a rescue action adventure where Linda Liddle (McAdams) has an opportunity to get back at her new boss using survivor mode.
This role is a real departure for McAdams who has played many a romantic role as the beautiful young lead. Here, she is frumpy nervous-Nelly, off-putting to her fellow workers as super brain Linda. She’s in line for Vice President of a big international company when her elderly boss suddenly dies and his spoiled sonny boy Bradley (Dylan O’Brien – Twinless) takes over, then adding more insult to injury by naming his frat buddy Donovan (Xavier Samuel) in her place.
Linda is just not cool enough for his new inner circle. Donovan has her title and money. He even takes credit for her precise analytical reports behind her back. Bradley wants her gone but soon realizes he needs her on a an important trip to Thailand, so she comes along. Little did she know her real dream to become a contestant on TV’s popular reality show Survivor was about to come true.
Raimi stages a whopper of a terrifying plane crash over the ocean, all very dynamic and shocking. Linda and Bradley wash up on a tropical island. He is seriously injured, she’s ok. And since she’s watched umpteen episodes Survivor, she knows exactly what to do, including how to treat his bloody leg, go on bloody wild game hunts, and she knows how to cook it! Bradley is duly impressed and starts to back off insulting his inferior employee, but not for long. She’s in her element, trying hard to show how well she can take care of both of them, and lets him know she’s in charge now. But he is still the same obnoxious manipulator which O’Brien plays very well.
Cinematographer Bill Pope uses POV camera work to show how rough their surroundings are as they plow through the jungle, finding weird delicacies, and traversing dangerous rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. Raimi makes his actors particularly unattractive as they chomp on food open mouthed with lots of spittle dribbling as they eat and talk. You see lots of nasty, yucky stuff screen. And there’s music from Danny Elfman to accompany all the ups and downs from Linda and Bradley as they battle each other throughout.
Raimi’s narrative drags as desperation, danger, deception and reconciliation play out with surprise twists and confrontation with gory images for horror-fying comedy from McAdams and O’Brien. This stompin’, chompin’ tropical romp is no Gilligan’s Island.
Walt Disney Studios 1 Hour 53 Minutes R
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
