Over Your Dead Body
Jason Segel and Samara Weaving are on surprisingly good form in Jorma Taccone’s brutal slice of comic-horror.
Marital mayhem: Samara Weaving and Jason Segel
Photo courtesy of Amazon Media.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
He’s a fortysomething filmmaker reduced to directing pop-up ads. She’s a seriously beautiful stage actress who looks young enough to be his daughter. Neither are really appreciated for their craft, and they’re beginning to take it out on each other. So they are off for a weekend together for some R&R – hiking, boating and shooting, especially shooting. Dan Burton (Jason Segel) is telling everybody about their weekend hike, maybe over-sharing a little too much. For Lisa (Samara Weaving) it’s a chance to rehearse her lines. On the long drive to the cabin that they share, emotions begin to simmer, even as Dan is determined to make it a special adieu, cooking Lisa what he thinks should be a superior edition of her favourite steak dinner (with red peppercorns imported especially from Ohio). And, once at the lake, he embarks on all the usual chores while she decides it’s “wine o’clock” and hits the bottle, along with an appetising gossip mag…
Like many a recent American film, Over Your Dead Body is a remake of a Scandinavian thriller, in this case the 2021 Drop Dead from Norway, starring Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie (currently available on Netflix). The original director, Tommy Wirkola, was pencilled in to shoot the remake, but was replaced by Jorma Taccone, the American comedian, writer, filmmaker and husband of director Marielle Heller. Taccone certainly brings his own brand of humour to the table, while keeping a firm hand on the horror, which he pulls off rather well. It’s a hard act to juggle genuine thrills, full-out gore and belly laughs, and Taccone more or less succeeds, while keeping numerous narrative balls in the air. Initially, there’s an air of The Roses and The Drama about the black humour, until the film shifts into another gear entirely, like a slapstick version of the Coen brothers’ Fargo. And then Taccone pushes things further still and yet, in spite of some truly inventive moments of Grand Guignol, it never loses its ability to regale or to amuse.
It might be advisable to clock the 18 certificate before settling down to watch, as much of what is on offer is genuinely repugnant and will appeal more to fans of schlock horror than to casual filmgoers. A part of the problem is that the art of prosthetics has become so adept these days that it’s hard not to blanch at such gruesome realism. Thankfully, a jolly good cast seems to be enjoying itself enormously, which somewhat alleviates the macabre tone, with Samara Weaving in particular proving to be an unexpectedly accomplished comic host. Jason Segel is funny, too, while there’s a late career hurrah from Paul Guilfoyle as Dan’s father, whose last affectionate words to his son are, “Dan, I wish a war upon you.” Of course, one should take it all with a pinch of smelling salts.
Cast: Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Danusia Samal, Jake Curran, Robert Goodman, Cha Yoon Lee, Jennifer Pettersson, Kumail Nanjiani.
Dir Jorma Taccone, Pro Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, Aram Tertzakian, Nick Spicer, Guy Danella and Lee Kim, Co-Pro Karen Gillan, Ex Pro Tommy Wirkola, Jorma Taccone, Jorgen Storm Rosenberg and Kjetil Omberg, Screenplay Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, Ph Matt Weston, Pro Des Joseph A. Hodges, Ed Jeremy Cohen, Music Matthew Compton, Costumes Ninna Päiväläinen, Sound Paul Germann.
87North Productions/XYZ Films-Amazon Prime/Amazon Media.
107 mins. USA. 2025. US Rel: 24 April 2026. UK Rel: 10 June 2026. Cert. 18.
