Sam Raimi directs Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien and Edyll Ismail in this thriller where a put upon employee and a useless CEO engage in a power struggle when they find themselves washed up on a desert island.

The headline… This is Raimi so you WILL have a blast. I obnoxiously laughed out loud at the first two big shocks of extreme gloopy gore. Also, McAdams is in career best mode in this tangy mix of John Locke from Lost and a classic psycho biddy. I had reservations… the CGI is substandard and took me out of the fun. And, avoiding spoilers, it think a better finale would involve exploring the dynamic once they return to everyday world they used to inhabit. Audiences seem to be seeking this one out so hopefully that means Raimi back regularly making cartoonish nasty for the foreseeable. And that’s all I want. This sits comfortably with Darkman and The Gift as a movie that’ll play better in your memory than actually sitting down to it again.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Swimming With Sharks (1994)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/ and my own Substack https://substack.com/@edinburghlaughterbulletin