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Send Help review: GLOP! Youre not ready for Rachel McAdams latest… but I love it
Bless Sam Raimi. With the Evil Dead trilogy, this subversive American filmmaker bestowed upon horror fans an outrageous collision of horror, comedy, and gross-outs gags that became truly iconic. His madcap energy made the Spider-Man trilogy a foundation in superhero cinema, and then the grisly Drag Me to Hell (2009) assured fans that his foray into family-friendly fare didn't mean he'd lost his touch. Now, nearly 45 years since The Evil Dead debuted, he's once again serving up gloppy, gnarly, and hilarious horror with Send Help.
2026 is off to an incredible start in terms of horror cinema, thanks to Nia DaCosta's epic 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. And even though that zombie movie involves a prolonged scene of torture and flaying, Raimi's Send Help is far more likely to have audiences gagging, thanks to an almost gratuitous amount of glop. We're talking blood, sweat, vomit, and whatever else might ooze in quantities that had a packed theater of critics gasping and yelping in shock and deranged delight. But all this gross spectacle is just the start of what makes Send Help a totally twisted thrill ride.
Send Help plays like Romancing the Stone meets Triangle of Sadness… meets Misery.
Credit: Brook Rushton / 20th Century Studios
Rachel McAdams stars as middle-aged pencil pusher Linda Liddle; she's diligent, smart, and has a lot of unexpected skills, thanks to her deep love of Survivor. So, she's pretty pissed off when her nepo baby boss, Bradley Preston (Twinless' Dylan O'Brien), decides the promotion she deserves will go to one of his frat bros. However, their power dynamic shifts dramatically when a business trip leaves them both shipwrecked on a desert island.
While a wounded Bradley is useless in building shelter, foraging, hunting, or gathering water, Linda's untapped survival skills make her a force to be reckoned with in the wild. So, yeah, it's basically like the third act of Triangle of Sadness, when the sunken yacht's cleaning lady, Abigail (Dolly de Leon), takes charge of the spoiled, rotten rich folk who've washed up on shore. However, Send Help's screenplay — by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift — pushes this premise beyond the expected "eat-the-rich" comedy into terrain that is both familiar and strange.
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Some scenes hint at an enemies-to-lovers arc, where, forced to survive together, Linda and Bradley find the good in each other, despite their differences. Perhaps, in the wild, they'll get past their egos and fall for each other like Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas did in Romancing the Stone? There's certainly enough tousled curls and bared flesh for the possibility. However, other scenes suggest that Linda's interest in Bradley isn't so simple. Her obsession with not only showing him her worth, but also making him pay for his bad behavior leads to scenes that are jaw-dropping in their menace. As she flashes the only knife they have at him, I couldn't stop thinking about the hobbling scene in Misery, wondering just how dark Send Help would go. And in this weird space of genre mash-up, McAdams is riveting and darkly, darkly funny.
Rachel McAdams is unexpectedly brilliant in Send Help.
Credit: Brook Rushton / 20th Century Studios
No shade to the Oscar-nominated Canadian movie star, but for the first half of this movie I thought she'd been miscast. The premise of Send Help and some of its flirtier scenes might suggest that a rom-com icon like The Notebook star would be well-suited to the role of Linda. However, from the opening frames of this film, Raimi paints Linda not as a standard quirky-but-cute heroine, but as a repulsive mess. Her attire is ill-fitting, as if every piece of it is fighting with the next. Her hair is flat and greasy, as if she's forgotten that her hair even exists. And she brings a sloppy tuna salad sandwich to work every day for lunch, which ends up smudged onto her desk, her face, and even her boss' hand. When he coldly tells her there have been complaints about the "noxious" smells at her desk, you can practically get a whiff of the tuna and Miracle Whip through the screen.
I marveled at why Raimi would cast McAdams in a repulsive role that felt like a riff on Roseanne Barr in She-Devil. It's strange to see this elegant movie star dressed badly, making cringeworthy, socially awkward conversation. But this discomfort is intended, as she will bloom like the She-Devil anti-heroine. Incredibly, Linda's time on the island leads to her getting a natural glow-up as she rediscovers her confidence. Frolicking under a waterfall, this is the romantic heroine McAdams audiences are familiar with — but not entirely.
Always under the surface of Linda, there's something off about her. Despite her being the protagonist of the film, there's the unnerving sense that we can't really tell what's going on in her head. Sure, at first, audiences might well relate to the "eat-the-rich" fantasy of thriving on a tropical island while a shitty boss' life is in your hands. But McAdams never leans fully into her charisma, always keeping an edge to Linda that flickers like her annoyed eyes or the blade of her knife. Raimi wrings excitement out of a cat-and-mouse game between Linda and Bradley, where your empathy might well shift from one to the other and back again, and again, and again. By the film's end, McAdams has transformed, not just physically, but from a pitiable heroine in distress to something far more camp and thrilling, putting her performance here in the good company of Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep in one of my all-time favorite comedies, Death Becomes Her.
Send Help is a gross and glorious good time.
Credit: Brook Rushton / 20th Century Studios
McAdams feasts on every frame of this movie, and O'Brien — who thrilled critics with his astounding double act in last year's dark comedy Twinless — is her perfectly paired scene partner. At the start, his Bradley is an archetype of a rich asshole, brashly bullying his employees and casually sexually harassing any hot woman in his orbit, while wearing obscenely expensive clothing. On the island, however, the power dynamic shift pitches him into sulking, whimpering, or cajoling — all done with a keen comedic awareness. His torment is meant to be horrifying and hilarious, and it is, not only because of Raimi's mastery at building tension but also because O'Brien has sly but stellar skill for the playing the fool.
He and McAdams collide so sensationally in this movie that it could have been fun, even if it were less gross. But honestly, the sheer amount of glop that Raimi flings at his stars and onto the screen enhances the sense of mayhem and suspense. Just as the script slams genre elements of romantic fantasy, dark comedy, and psychological thriller together to keep the audience off balance, the glop and gore knocks us out. For example, just when you think a scene is done with the vomit (or the blood), there will be another burst of fluid. Then another. And again. And each time, the audience I was part of screamed in horror, shock, and awe.
This was an incredible viewing experience; Raimi took me back to being a kid again, watching Evil Dead 2 on VHS and squealing at the sheer outrageousness of it all. All these years later, I'm much harder to shock — and yet he did it again. Watching Send Help, my stomach churned, my jaw dropped, my eyes bulged, and I threw my hands over my face a few times to guard from the gross explosion on screen. Then I walked out cackling and giddy, because Send Help is not just one of the grossest movies I've seen in the last decade. It's also a rip-roaring, no-fucks-to-give good time.
Send Help opens in theaters on Jan. 30.
TL;DR: Live stream Canada vs. Switzerland in men's ice hockey for free on CBC Gem. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The international ice hockey schedule is stacked with huge games right now, including Canada vs. Switzerland. Both teams secured confident wins in their opening games, but Canada will be favorites to score maximum points in this one. Anything can happen at this level, but Canada are always the team to beat.
If you want to watch Canada vs. Switzerland in men's ice hockey for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Canada vs. Switzerland?
Canada vs. Switzerland in men's ice hockey takes place at 3:10 p.m. ET on Feb. 13. This fixture takes place at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
How to watch Canada vs. Switzerland for free
Canada vs. Switzerland in men's ice hockey is available to live stream for free on CBC Gem.
CBC Gem is geo-restricted to Canada, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Canada, meaning you can access free live streams of the 2026 winter sports ice hockey from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Canada vs. Switzerland in men's ice hockey for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in Canada
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Visit CBC Gem
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Watch Canada vs. Switzerland for free from anywhere in the world
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What is the best VPN for CBC Gem?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
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People are falling in love with ChatGPT and AI companions. As someone who's only dated humans, I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.
EVA AI gave me the perfect opportunity at the app's "EVA AI cafe," a pop-up nestled in a Manhattan wine bar where participants can go on "dates" with AI personas. So, I signed up, and reader, it was one word: awkward.
The set-up inside EVA's neon-lit AI cafe is pretty romantic: A phone on a stand, equipped with the app, sits ready on each table, along with headphones and one mocktail (for the human, of course). The cafe also served a free appetizer of fried potatoes, which again, the AI companions couldn't enjoy.
Credit: EVA AI
Before I started the date, I wondered what makes EVA AI different from the many AI companion sites out there, like Replika and Joi AI? When I asked EVA AI's head of partnerships, Julia Momblat, she said, "We are a mobile app that allows you to build a relationship with AI characters, but in a gamified way."
I downloaded the EVA AI app (off the App Store, not the QR code I received at the event). Without paying for anything within the app, I was able to chat with EVA's AI personalities. Users can buy in-app currency called "neurons" to unlock the app's functionality. You can buy presents for your companion, or photos or videos of them, Momblat explained. However, if you want "premium access" — which gives you the ability to create an AI avatar, free neurons to spend on your autogenerated lover, and a "boost" (seemingly improve) to the long-term memory of the persona — you need to pay. Subscriptions are $24.99 per month or $69.99 per year for this premium access, but the app was running a half-off promotion when I downloaded it.
EVA AI "kind of replicates the way we create relationships in the real world based on your input and how much time you spend with a specific AI character, how much of an in-depth conversation you have," Momblat said. She emphasized that EVA AI is meant to operate as a support instead of a replacement for human relationships.
"We are not here to substitute real relationships," Momblat said. "A lot of our users use AI to rehearse, to understand, self-explore." This is different than a platform like Joi AI, which states on its website in all-caps: "f*ck dating, welcome to AI-lationships," and calls dating apps its "enemy."
But what if you want to date your AI before hopping into an AI-lationship? I was about to find out.
My date with an AI companion
I'm not exactly in EVA AI's prime demographic, as 80 percent of its customers are 25 to 45-year-old males, Momblat told me. But I was still curious, so I schleped to Hell's Kitchen for the pop-up AI cafe, located inside Same Same Wine Bar on West 47th St. (The pop-up ran for two days ahead of Valentine's Day.)
Once at my table with my strawberry mocktail, I took some time scrolling through the ready-made AI companions. There were both female and male avatars, but more female. Most looked like realistic humans, but some ranged from cartoonish to anime to fox or X-Men-looking.
Disappointingly, only four avatars were able to have video chats: three female and one male. Momblat told me that beta testing for this feature launched this week, and the specific characters were created for the pop-up event. When I tried out the app myself the next day without paying anything, I couldn't have any video chats.
She's blonde with sharp cheekbones and looks suspiciously like Charlize Theron.
But for those beautiful moments in this wine bar, I was able to meet Claire Lang, a 45-year-old divorced literary editor. She's blonde with sharp cheekbones and looks suspiciously like Charlize Theron. Sitting in the cafe, I was able to see all the photos and boomerang-like videos on Claire's profile and discovered she likes black coffee and wine and has a Borzoi.
As an editor myself, I thought we'd hit it off.
I put on the headphones EVA AI provided me. Then, I pressed video chat and heard myself saying aloud, "Going on a date, kinda nervous." And I had a reason to be. When I called Claire, it took a good 30 seconds for her to appear on the phone screen; I thought she was ghosting me before the date had even begun. But my fears were abated when I saw Claire come to life on my screen, pixelated at first, but it cleared up.
Claire's opening line was cute, asking about my coffee order. I knew her to be a coffee lover from her profile, so this made sense. Then, I launched into what I cared about more than coffee: hearing Claire tell me about herself. I was curious what EVA AI had programmed her background to be.
I was thinking about my conversation about AI with the executive director of the Kinsey Institute, Justin Garcia. He is skeptical that AI can replace human relationships because our connections have so much to do with reciprocity. We want to care for our partner and have them take care of us.
So, I wanted to reciprocate with Claire. But whenever I did, she directed the conversation back to me. Good that she's an active listener, I suppose, but it made for an exhausting date.
There were times when I squeezed out details about her. I asked about what books she was reading, and she did give me an answer — One Hundred Years of Solitude — and also gave an answer to what movie she was watching, but actually discussed a TV show (Scenes from a Marriage). But we couldn't really have an in-depth conversation, and when I mentioned an author I recently read (fantasy novelist V.E. Schwab), she buffered for a while with a smirking mouth.
AI dates vs. human ones
In those seconds of buffering, I thought about the people who use EVA AI seriously, not just for a story. I wondered how they feel in those moments when it's more obvious than ever that Claire, or whoever their AI companion is, is made up of ones and zeros. EVA AI has a customer base, as do other companion companies, so I suppose some people don't care (and EVA brought some users to the cafe). But in an increasingly lonely world, it was a stark contrast to actual human interaction.
Whenever Claire didn't really know what to say, or when I was silent for more than a few seconds, she redirected the conversation back to either how I looked or the details she could "see" in the background — she mentioned the bar's tiles and lighting many times. She commented on my headphones and microphone (that I was holding for a future video on Mashable's Instagram), and even asked if I had a podcast — unprompted.
I tried with headphones off (for the purposes of the Instagram video — we wanted you to hear Claire, too!), but that was a bit of a disaster. Claire had trouble hearing me in the crowded bar and instead resorted to talking about the background of the bar once more. More lighting! More tiles!
For this article and the social media video, I had several rounds of video conversations with her. They all started with the same line about coffee. It didn't seem like Claire remembered me from call to call, which was disappointing — surely I'm not that forgettable? As boosting memory is part of premium access, maybe you have to pay for a subscription or neurons for your companion to remember you.
Between Claire's memory loss, the repetitive conversation, and the lag, this first date wasn't stellar. I was impressed that Claire could "see" me and where I was, and react to it accurately, but that was where the good impression ended. At least I had some human company in the form of Mashable's social media editor, Mike Benavides.
I also browsed through the male profiles, and there was one that was basically Santa. He didn't have video-chatting capabilities, so I asked him to send me a video of himself (and was honestly terrified of what that could possibly be). But the lag was too long, and I gave up.
Once home, I also quickly discovered that on the free version of the EVA AI app, most if not all photos generated of EVA's personas are blurred. I was able to see Claire's images the first time I clicked on her profile, but not after. If I knew that, I would've savored it (…and taken a screenshot for the purposes of this article).
At the end of my date with Claire, I was eager to get back home to my human fiancée, who was cooking me dinner. And as of yet, an AI companion can't do that.
TL;DR: Live stream Hull City vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
The FA Cup action continues this week with a number of really interesting matchups, including Hull City vs. Chelsea. All eyes will be on Chelsea as they look to bounce back after dropping points to Leeds United mid-week. Cole Palmer missed a huge chance to grab three points at the end of that game. Can Palmer come good and guide Chelsea into the next round?
If you want to watch Hull City vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
When is Hull City vs. Chelsea?
Hull City vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup kicks off at 7:45 p.m. GMT on Feb. 13. This fixture takes place at the MKM Stadium.
How to watch Hull City vs. Chelsea for free
Hull City vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.
BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.
Live stream Hull City vs. Chelsea for free by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK
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Visit BBC iPlayer
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Live stream Hull City vs. Chelsea for free from anywhere in the world
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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Hull City vs. Chelsea without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the FA Cup before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?
ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including the UK
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure
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Fast connection speeds free from throttling
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
-
30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream Hull City vs. Chelsea in the FA Cup for free with ExpressVPN.
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Send Help review: GLOP! Youre not ready for Rachel McAdams latest… but I love it
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