Film Review – Over Your Dead Body (2026)

      Over Your Dead Body, 2026.

      Directed by Jorma Taccone.

      Featuring Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Kayla Radomski, Nikolai Kinski, Jake Curran, Jennifer Pettersson, Cha Yoon Lee, Robert Goodman, Danusia Samal, Andy Cohen, Iina Kuustonen, André Eriksen, Ilkka Villi, and Kumail Nanjiani.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A troubled married couple escapes to a remote cabin to mend their relationship, but each has a hidden agenda to kill the other.

      It's safe to say that director Jorma Taccone (along with his comedic music/film group The Lonely Island) has a unique style when it comes to humor, which makes it even more surprising that the ultraviolent relationship action-comedy Over Your Dead Body is based on the Norwegian film The Trip (by Tommy Wirkola, Nick Ball, and John Niven, with Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney adapting the screenplay). A lot of the bizarre set pieces here seem to be taken directly from the original.

      The notable word here is “distinct,” as even without having seen the Norwegian version (which is only about five years old), one can sense that Taccone is interpreting the outrageous material in his own way while showcasing the strengths of Jason Segel (playing a more violent and malevolent role than usual, yet still embodying characteristics of amusing incompetence) and Samara Weaving (who, for a change, portrays not only a pursued heroine but also someone who can turn the situation to her advantage with intelligence and physicality, all while using her natural Australian accent). This ultimately suggests that there's room for differing interpretations of the twisted humor even if both films share the same narrative path (as Jorma has described this as a comedy-action emphasis rather than an action-comedy angle in an interview).

      The story follows a couple that reluctantly goes on a cabin retreat for relaxation and to address their marital problems; however, it's actually a scheme by the advertisement-director husband, Dan, to murder his actress wife, Lisa, while making it look like a tragic accident. The filmmakers introduce a new element by incorporating the escaped convicts and a corrections officer (played by Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, and Keith Jardine) who joins their getaway, bringing with them a romantic tension that serves as a distorted reflection of the main couple, who are simply trying to endure each other to survive this unexpected invasion. Additionally, their professional identities serve multiple roles, from enhancing their relationship to aiding in survival to generating more humor.

      The narrative is punctuated with quick flashbacks meant to heighten the absurdity and illustrate how the characters ended up together and how their situation escalated. At times, this disrupts the pace that the filmmakers are trying to establish (it's clear they intended to contrast this situation by introducing another couple, while also recognizing that Segel and Weaving could have effectively carried this as a wacky cat-and-mouse scenario alone, raising questions about what that version might have looked like). However, each comedic action sequence (which may cross the line into tastelessness for some viewers) is executed very well, showcasing impeccable timing in delivery.

      Despite the somewhat predictable nature of the outcomes, irrespective of prior knowledge of the Norwegian original, this iteration of Over Your Dead Body succeeds due to its dedication to shocking and grotesquely impressive gore and practical effects, extending well beyond severe stab wounds and shotgun blasts. The effects work challenges the limits of physics in ways one might not have previously imagined in film. The other shocking deaths add to this intensity. More importantly, the commitment to extreme violence somewhat masks the film’s lack of depth in its plot. It also ends with a sharp satire of the visual style of streaming content, making it worth watching for that reason alone. Ultimately, it also has a crowd-pleasing, appropriately dark sense of humor.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

      Robert Kojder