People sometimes stay in marriages too long, but even if they get to the point of saying out loud that they want to kill each other, it’s rare that they actually take steps to do so. Based on the Norwegian film The Trip starring Noomi Rapace and Aksel Hennie, Over Your Dead Body opens on a spiteful, miserable couple planning a trip out of town which each of them expects to be returning from solo, but they have little idea what actually awaits them as they drive somewhere very beautiful to do something very ugly.
Dan (Jason Segel) makes sure to loudly say that Lisa (Samara Weaving) has her mind made up to go on a hike even though he thinks it could be dangerous, and he’s ready with duct tape, rope, and other important tools for the perfect murder. When Dan and Lisa arrive at their country house after a temperamental car ride up there, Dan makes his move, only to discover that Lisa is also trying to kill him (she told everyone she could that he was going hunting even though she hates guns). Their plans go predictably off the rails, and they soon find themselves a partially united front when they are taken prisoner by escaped convicts Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Todd (Keith Jardine) and Allegra (Juliette Lewis), the prison guard who broke them out.
This film comes from director Jorma Taccone, a member of The Lonely Island and best known for MacGruber, and writers Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, also at SXSW this year with Pizza Movie. It feels in many ways like two separate films, starting with the tale of two unhappy people just as eager to share how much they detest each other as they are to murder the other and then turning into a bloody survival thriller with an emphasis on comedic gore. While both are quite fun, the former feels like a more sophisticated entry laced with cleverness and solid pacing, including flashback reveals about key subplots, while the latter throws everything at the wall for the most unhinged experience possible, sure to delight a crowd hungry for some vicious blows and deaths.
Weaving has a strong history with horror, which includes a leading role in another SXSW entry this year, Ready or Not 2, and she brings a phenomenal furious energy to Lisa, who is slightly more subtle about communicating her rage than Dan. Segel has a background in comedy and puts it to good use as someone who’s angry enough but doesn’t really possess the skill set – something Lisa knows – to pull off this kind of kill. The two of them make the film’s first third absolutely compelling, and watching them hurl insults at each other while trying to finish the job for a full 90 or 120 minutes would have undoubtedly been more than sufficiently fun on its own.
But, in keeping with the source material, the plot takes a different turn, and audiences will likely embrace the brutal gore that follows. Olyphant is always tuned-in, and it’s fun to see him playing a villain. Lewis is at her most maniacal, which is a good look on her, and they’re joined by Jardine as the less intelligent but very physically intimidating Todd. Paul Guilfoyle has an entertaining supporting role as Dan’s father, who has little patience for his son, liberal politics, and the assisted living facility staff member trying to give him his pills.
The blood dripping from Weaving and Segel’s heads on the poster and this film’s title set reasonable expectations for what it will involve. The dialogue is entertaining and all the violent exchanges are creatively-constructed and executed to maximum effect. Weaving and Segal are smartly-paired in a film that, after its very strong opening, leans strongly into bloody excess over any semblance of seriousness. Fortunately for most audiences, needing a coherent, logic-driven storyline won’t be key, and this film can offer the gory fun it promises in spades.
Movie Rating: 6/10
