Zainab Aziz Talks Sam Raimi's SEND HELP and Crafting Darkly Humorous Horror

By Shannon McGrew

In SEND HELP, from acclaimed horror director Sam Raimi, two colleagues (Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien) become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s an unsettling, darkly humorous battle of wills and wits to make it out alive. 

For the release of SEND HELP, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with producer Zainab Azizi,  who is Sam Raimi’s primary producing partner, and has worked on such projects as 2024’s Dont Move and 2025’s Locked.

During the interview, Zainab discussed everything from developing the film with writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon to casting Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, and collaborating with Sam Raimi to balance dark humor with survival horror.

Thank you so much for speaking with me today. You’ve produced a wide range of horror projects in the past. What initially drew you to SEND HELP, and at what point did you realize Sam was the perfect filmmaker to bring this story to life? 

Zainab Aziz: I’m a huge fan of writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, who are known for Freddy vs Jason and Baywatch (2017). I read a bunch of their scripts, and I loved them, so I reached out to their agent for a general meeting, which is just a meeting to get to know them, and we hit it off. They’re great dads who love horror films. It was a love fest of a meeting, and we decided we had to make something together. 

They sent over a bunch of different ideas, and I was really drawn to Linda Little's logline: an overworked, underappreciated executive who was promised a promotion but was turned down, and she gets stranded on a deserted island with her boss. We developed it into a full-length feature, and we brought it to Sam to produce. He loved it so much that he attached himself to direct from the start, then we took it out to the market, and it got sold, and that’s how it all came together. 

Blending scares and humor can be relatively tricky if you don’t have the right cast. What qualities were you looking for in casting for the characters of Linda Little and Bradley Preston to make sure both sides of the tone really landed?

Zainab Aziz: Rachel McAdams, for Linda Little, was a dream come true. She is one of the most talented actresses in our industry, so we were very fortunate to get her. What she was so great at was how she could be so vulnerable and likable, and we’ve never seen her in a role like this where she turns a little mad. So, it was really fun casting her. 

When it came to Bradley, we cast Dylan O’Brien. His comedic timing is so wonderful, and we already knew he was a leading man from his franchise films. After watching Caddo Lake, I saw the depth, vulnerability, and softness he had. On set, he actually brought a lot more humor into the film. A lot of the jokes were some of his own original jokes that he came up with. 

What do you think SEND HELP brings to the genre that sets it apart from other women-fronted horror films? 

Zainab Aziz: I love to say that Linda Little is not a victim. Everyone’s felt like Linda Little, regardless of gender. Everyone’s had a terrible boss. Many people have worked in jobs where they felt underappreciated. It was a universal feeling about her role. What I love about Linda Little is that she’s not a hopeless, weak female lead. She’s strong, and she learns to understand her strength as she gets to the island. 

With the movie being filmed in Thailand, how did the setting shape the production, and what was most important to you in capturing that authenticity on screen? 

Zainab Aziz: The island itself is its own character, and when we were in the early stages, our director, Sam, wanted to make sure the island felt very exotic and nothing like you’ve ever seen before. Since the island is such a stark juxtaposition of what we see at the beginning of the cold gray office, he wanted it to be full of life, with the jungle dark and mysterious, but the water clear and blue. In a way, he wanted it to feel like a fantasy. We scouted multiple countries, but ultimately we landed in Thailand, which was stunning, had the best crew, and gave us a great experience. 

When audiences finally get to see the film, what do you hope they walk away feeling or talking about the most? 

Zainab Aziz: It’s such a ride. Everyone will have different perspectives on the ending and what happened. I hope people have a great time at the theaters, because then my job is done. But the deeper message for me is to understand that everyone is fighting their own battles and to be kind to everyone. 

SEND HELP is now in theaters.