5 Best New Movies to Stream This Weekend (May 8-10): ‘Send Help’ and More

A lot of people don’t like their bosses, so imagine a scenario where you’re stuck on a deserted island with them. What would you do? That’s the predicament low-level employee Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) finds herself in at the beginning of Send Help, an entertaining new horror-comedy from the twisted mind of director Sam Raimi. Linda is usually a pushover, but she has the skills necessary to survive without the modern conveniences of plumbing or DoorDash. Her boss, the egotistical Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), doesn’t like being subservient to anyone, but he has no choice. But when he suspects Linda is deliberately stranding them in the middle of nowhere, he takes matters into his own hands and the results aren’t pretty.

Send Help is like Survivor on steroids — it’s brutal, funny and at times scary. What else would you expect from the man who gave birth to the Evil Dead franchise? It’s a hoot to see McAdams battle O’Brien, even if you have to occasionally close your eyes at all the horrible things they do to each other. With McAdams again flexing her comedic chops, can we finally see the actress reprise Regina George in a Mean Girls sequel?

Tova (Sally Field) is a lonely widower who is set in her ways. When young drifter Cameron (Lewis Pullman) begins to work with her at the local aquarium, she initially resents his presence. But the two grow close enough to call each other friend and discover the past traumas that led them to their current dispositions. Tova still hasn’t recovered from losing her only child, while Cameron is looking for a father he never really knew. With the help of an eavesdropping orange octopus, can Tova and Cameron settle their pasts so they can move on?

Remarkably Bright Creatures is the perfect movie to watch this Mother’s Day weekend — or for anyone looking for a quiet drama that doesn’t make too many waves. The oddball pairing of Field and Pullman is terrific — they’re both not quite comfortable with each other, which makes sense given their prickly characters. The film boasts some pretty impressive shots of Vancouver, Canada, which may make you want to join Tova and Cameron’s aquarium crew and clean up some fish guts. Hey, there are worse things in life.

Something weird is happening in Tasmania. After an accidental explosion inadvertently causes some of its victims to act like zombies, Ava (Daisy Ridley) and her estranged husband Mitch (Matt Whelan) volunteer to help in any way they can. Trouble arises when Mitch goes missing, which causes Ava to team up with a stranger, Clay (Brenton Thwaites), who has a shady past.  Ava is determined to find her husband, but in a slowly spreading zombie apocalypse, she might not like what she finds if she does.

The world doesn’t need another zombie movie, but trust me, We Bury the Dead is one of the better ones. Instead of reveling in excessive gore and cheap kills, it uses its subject matter to explore themes of martial strife, societal unrest and what it means to be human. It’s a serious zombie film, but rest assured, there’s still the requisite jump scares and sudden violence the genre is known for. 

What happens after the world ends? That’s the question the survivors of the 2020 disaster film Greenland have to answer in the 2026 sequel, Greenland 2: Migration. When their arctic bunker is destroyed by a tsunami, the Garrity family has no choice but to travel to the United Kingdom in search of a hospitable place to live. But the world is still recovering from the interstellar comet that destroyed most of Earth’s civilization in the first film, and dad John (Gerard Butler) discovers something that makes their quest more urgent. Can John succeed in saving his family one last time?

There’s nothing more entertaining than a B-movie with A-level aspirations, and Greenland 2 works despite some dubious plotting and shaky acting. Butler is a pro at this kind of stuff, and his gruff presence is welcome in any action-oriented tale. The movie paints an interesting portrait of what life would look like after a cataclysmic event, with some survivors jockeying for power while others do their best in the worst circumstances. Greenland 2 wasn’t worth trekking to the theatres to watch in January, but it’s totally fine as a stay-at-home streaming weekend watch. Some films were made for the small screen, and that’s OK.

Cathy (Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) have known each other their entire lives — they’re as close as siblings and can rely on each other to weather the growing pains of young adulthood. But when Cathy seems set on marrying the wealthy Edgar (Shazad Latif), which drives Heathcliff away and makes her realize she feels more than a sisterly affection for him. Years later, Heathcliff returns, older, richer and more powerful, but does a now-married Cathy still share the same passion for him?

Director Emerald Fennell’s wild adaptation of Emily Brontë’s beloved novel caused tongues to wag and some critics to shake their heads when it was unleashed in theaters this past Valentine’s Day. Now that the controversy has died down, this remake’s strengths — the lush visuals and a smoldering performance by Elordi — outweigh its weaknesses. The movie’s a big tease, and it’s not nearly as daring as it wants it to be, but it honors Brontë’s doomed romance. Somewhere, Kate Bush is pressed against a window, happy.