“We’re not in the office anymore.”

What happens when the desert island castaway scenario gets handed to the man who made Evil Dead II (1987)? Working from an excellent script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, director Sam Raimi strands a chauvinistic nepo-baby CEO (Dylan O’Brien) and a nerdy workhorse (Rachel McAdams)—whom the CEO despises for her tuna fish breath and go-getter attitude—on an island after a plane crash, and then let’s the corporate hierarchy crumble as “Linda from Strategy and Planning” showcases why she was indeed a good candidate for television’s Survivor (which also means we get an excellent McAdams performance as she transforms from frumpy office worker to ultra-capable survivalist).

The pleasure here is that Raimi refrains from falling into the ruts of petty revenge, simplistic romantic comedy, and the transparent social commentary of the similarly premised Triangle of Sadness (2022). In fact, he uses elements of all three to tease the audience and keep them on the wrong foot, allowing both protagonists to gain the upper hand of the power struggle at times. Each also broadcasts their own unique moral shortcomings so that we have no rooting interest besides seeing them literally and metaphorically rip each other to shreds (I, for one, never bought the idea that they were working with mutual benefit in mind).

Blood, guts, negotiations, failed escape attempts, projectile vomit, it’s got it all and style to spare, and O’Brien and McAdams play it with the precisely required dose of self-awareness. It doesn’t quite have the effects budget required to dress up the B-movie premise with an A-movie production, but even that slapdash visual texture figures into Raimi’s playful tone.