‘Over Your Dead Body’ Review: Jason Segel and Samara Weaving Hilariously Fight Till Death Do Them Part
Jorma Taccone, aka J-Orgus, aka Mr. Marielle Heller, returns to the director's chair a decade after co-directing one of the best 90-minute comedies of all time and a certified Rendy J. classic, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. But this time, he's on his action shit. Not like MacGruber, though; it’s more like The War of the Roses in the way of John Wick (it’s an 87North production).
His latest film, Over Your Dead Body, is a violent comedy and an American remake of the 2021 Tommy Wirkola flick, The Trip, starring Noomi Rapace, which I've never seen. The story follows a married couple whose respective "till death do us part" plans for one another unravel into a chaotic bloodfest.
What launches as an unbridled and silly marital comedy quickly loses steam by the midpoint, thanks to the script from writing duo BriTANicK (Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher). Still, it's cool to see Taccone leveling up his action skillset and flexing his violent, tonal, ultraviolent action-comedy flair.
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Independent Film Company
MPA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, gore, sexual assault, pervasive language, and sexual content.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 45 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: 87North Productions, XYZ Films
Distributor: Independent Film Company
Director: Jorma Taccone
Screenwriters: Nick Kocher, Brian McElhaney
Cast: Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis
U.S Release Date: April 24, 2026
Dan (Jason Segel), a fragile, scrawny film director stuck in commercial work hell, and Lisa (Samara Weaving), a haughty theater actress, are full of scorn toward each other in their hapless marriage. Nevertheless, they embark on a romantic getaway to a remote cabin in the woods, owned by Dan's conservative, unfiltered father (Paul Guilfoyle). Dan plans to kill Lisa. But when he tries to enact his plan, Lisa gains the upper hand, revealing that she was also planning to kill him. Their marital scuffle hits a wall, however, when three violent convicts – Todd (Keith Jardine), Allegra (Juliette Lewis), and Pete (Timothy Olyphant) – enter the fray.
Jorma Taccone breaks free from modern action’s polished sameness.
Samara Weaving and Jason Segel in Jorma Taccone’s OVER YOUR DEAD BODY. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release.
I firmly believe 87North Productions has left a stain on modern Western action flicks. The sleek polish in the heavy stunt‑driven work and action choreography, with its emphasis on clean camerawork, has become samey and conforming. That said, Taccone’s direction breaks through that barrier, largely due to the film’s single‑set arena for its violent brawls and his signature blend of dark comedy. He proves that his MacGruber work was merely the groundwork for handling gonzo action such as this. Some set pieces are lifted from the source material, but Taccone has a keen eye for staging and blocking, making every room‑based set piece stand out in either shocking hilarity or pure fun. Credit also goes to the practical stunt team, led by stunt coordinator Can Aydin and fight coordinator Cha‑Lee Yoon, which makes the brawls between the couple and the home‑invading goons visually stimulating and as brutal as they are funny. It’s a gory bloodfest – even more so than MacGruber ripping throats – with various household appliances used as fatal blows, and it’s gleeful fun.
BriTANicK’s screenplay strikes its own dark, broad comedic balance, turning this bumbling Mr. & Mrs. Smith-type violence into a Tom and Jerry dynamic. It goes the classic dark‑but‑absurdist route, with Lisa and Dan both being terrible in their own right. Samara Weaving and Jason Segel excel as a couple straight out of hell. Weaving, retaining her Aussie accent, shines in the cunning, mean‑spirited, gonzo screamer persona more than her dry comedic choices seen in Ready or Not. Segel truly shines in his uppity fragility. What it lacks in romance, it makes up for in comedic banter and characterization, as they know how to get underneath each other’s skin. There’s a great bit where Dan uses Lisa’s failure to convince anyone of her serious acting ambitions by showing he can cry on command faster than her. It gets to the core insecurities that drive the couple apart, eventually forgetting that notion, especially when the three convicts literally fall through the attic and into their lives, taking center stage.
Over Your Dead Body’s goes from gleeful chaos to exhausting off-putting excess.
Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, and Keith Jardine in Jorma Taccone’s OVER YOUR DEAD BODY. Courtesy of Independent Film Company. An Independent Film Company Release
Over Your Dead Body stretches itself pretty thin even before its convicted felons enter the fray. Once they do, it becomes a comedic Funny Games – but because I like torturing my editor, I’ll also say The Strangers. The overall mean‑spirited dark nature adds to the fun, but quickly takes an unnecessarily violent turn with a divisive bit — grown more uncomfortable by Segal’s sincere performance to not face the brunt of another man’s prick — before more plot turns. Again, that’s all on BriTANicK, not Taccone, and it feels off‑brand even for that writer duo and the filmmaker.
As the turning point progresses, while the ensuing feats of violent spectacle and practicality (Taccone fucking up the cabin house) are fun, the stretches of one destructive set piece after another – where the convicts wear heaps of hard plot armor, and the couple’s bumbling becomes exhausting – grow tiresome. Taccone shapes enough to keep the frenzy spirited and fun, matched with the central duo’s performances, but it wears thin pretty quickly across the board, making for a fun genre spin on the familiar.
Final Statement
Bolstered by fun performances from Jason Segel and Samara Weaving, Over Your Dead Body is a blistering technical showcase for director Jorma Taccone and an entertaining action romp.
