A dysfunctional married couple retreats to a secluded cabin to repair their relationship, but each secretly plots to murder the other. A film by Jorma Taccone, starring Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, Nikolai Kinski, Kayla Radomski, Jennifer Pettersson, Danusia Samal, Jake Curran, Cha Yoon Lee, Bill Jones, Robert Goodman, Andy Cohen, Iina Kuustonen, André Eriksen, Ilkka Villi, Kumail Nanjiani, and Juliette Lewis.

Directed by American filmmaker Jorma Taccone from a screenplay by Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, OVER YOUR DEAD BODY is a comedy-thriller following a couple on a getaway to a secluded cabin.

What appears to be an attempt to salvage their failing relationship is actually a deadly setup as both secretly plan to murder the other and make it look like an accident to collect the insurance money.

However, their plans go sideways when three fugitives take them hostage and demand cash in exchange for their lives. The film is based on Tommy Wirkola’s 2021 Norwegian film I onde dager.

This is definitely no typical rom-com. The film kicks off with a great dose of dark comedy told through the eyes of Dan (Jason Segel), a once-aspiring film director who has been reduced to shooting cheap pop-up ads. Dan is planning something sinister for a weekend cabin getaway with his young wife. He goes out of his way to overshare the trip’s itinerary with his assistant director, Louis (Jennifer Pettersson), clearly setting her up to be his alibi if something bad happens to his wife while they are away. This is all part of his seemingly perfect plan to murder his wife for the insurance money.

Lisa (Samara Weaving) is an aspiring actress who has grown to deeply resent her husband. She feels he is no longer the ambitious director she fell in love with, nor the man she once counted on to launch her acting career. By the time Dan and Lisa actually arrive at the cabin, the miserable state of their marriage is made obvious through the relentless bickering and vicious insults they hurl at each other on the drive up.

The twist hits when Dan finally makes his move, attempting to chloroform Lisa so he can drown her in the lake. But he’s shocked (literally) when she whips around and drops him with a taser. Moments later, Dan wakes up tied to a chair. He is horrified to learn that Lisa is also plotting to kill him. It turns out she knew about his murderous scheme all along and was merely waiting for her moment to strike first.

The scene where they finally lay out their respective murder plots is easily my favorite moment in the film. Dan argues his plan is far more considerate, that he cooked her a fantastic steak and intended to keep her unconscious so she wouldn’t feel a thing sinking to the bottom of the lake. He mocks Lisa’s plan to shoot him, pointing out that her acting is so terrible that the police would instantly see through her unconvincing performance. The argument escalates into a hilariously absurd acting competition, with both of them trying to outdo the other by performing the devastated “grieving spouse” reactions they plan to give the police.

What Lisa doesn’t realize is that Dan’s entire performance is just a stalling tactic. Five days earlier, he recruited his old high school friend Henry (Jake Curran) to help him carry out the murder. Henry is an ex-con Dan hired to do odd jobs around the house, and their deal is a 50/50 split of Lisa’s $100,000 life insurance policy. Henry sneaks into the cabin just in time to save Dan by knocking Lisa out cold with a hammer.

Moments later, Lisa wakes up tied to a chair in the cellar. Dan demands to know her motive for wanting him dead. Lisa confesses that it is because Dan is controlling, weak, and insecure. She explains that he pushed her to quit her job to focus on acting but never actually helped her, refusing to give her even a tiny role in his own movie. On top of that, he lost their house, their car, and all their money. Now, even if she divorces him, she will be buried in his debt. Dan, who earlier claimed his motive was justified because he caught her sleeping with another man, hypocritically judges Lisa for only caring about the money.

Henry clumsily chimes in that the payout is the exact reason they are killing her too. Dan tries to shut him up, but Henry brags that he is getting a half cut, which he believes is $50,000. Lisa immediately realizes Dan has been lying to Henry about the $1,000,000 policy. Before she can expose the policy’s true value, Dan panics and shoves a plastic bag over her head to suffocate her. Sensing he is being played, Henry points his gun on Dan and forces him to remove the bag. Left with no choice, Dan complies. Lisa tells Henry the policy is actually for a million dollars and promises to give him half if he shoots Dan in the face.

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@pradt

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY 🔪
Thoughtful partners plan ahead.
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A film by Jorma Taccone, starring Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith Jardine, Timothy Olyphant, Nikolai Kinski, Kayla Radomski, Jennifer Pettersson, Danusia Samal, Jake Curran, Cha Yoon Lee, Bill Jones, Robert Goodman, Andy Cohen, Iina Kuustonen, André Eriksen, Ilkka Villi, Kumail Nanjiani, and Juliette Lewis.

Dan seizes his chance and lunges at Henry for the shotgun. Their sudden scuffle knocks Lisa’s chair to the ground, which allows her to finally break free. As Henry loses his grip, the gun clatters to the floor, and it is a mad dash between Dan and Lisa to grab it. During the chaotic struggle, Dan accidentally pulls the trigger and fires a blast that kills Henry instantly.

Lisa scrambles upstairs with the shotgun. She tries to shoot Dan but keeps missing. Dan seizes an opening and lunges at her to take the weapon. As they wrestle for control, the gun goes off again, sending a blast straight into the ceiling. Instantly, they are startled to hear a terrified scream, followed by a loud tumbling noise before the entire ceiling caves in on them both. As the dust settles, three fugitives who had been secretly hiding in the attic emerge from the rubble.

Unbeknownst to Lisa and Dan, two convicted killers named Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Todd (Keith Jardine) recently broke out of prison. They pulled off the escape with the help of Allegra (Juliette Lewis), a correctional officer who fell in love with Pete.

The three fugitives went on the run and stumbled upon Dan’s cabin. They decided to lay low there for a while until the moment Dan and Lisa suddenly showed up. The trio quickly cleaned up their tracks and scrambled into the attic to hide.

I have to admit, there are some genuinely hilarious moments in this film. Watching two complete amateurs try to murder each other is incredibly entertaining, mostly because they both struggle so badly to improvise the second their plans hit a snag.

I am not usually a fan of flashbacks, but they are used effectively here to establish the characters’ backstories.

The cast delivers strong performances across the board, particularly Samara Weaving, who continues to perfect her signature role as a seeming victim who fiercely fights her way to survival.

Timothy Olyphant completely steals the show as the main antagonist, Pete. Despite being the villain, Pete is probably the most logical person in the room, and Olyphant gives him an unsettling yet comical vibe.

However, Jason Segel and Juliette Lewis are the weakest links as Dan and Allegra. Allegra gets a bit of a pass since Pete simply manipulated her into thinking he loved her so she would help him escape prison.

Dan, on the other hand, falls completely flat. We are supposed to believe he was once deeply in love with Lisa, but I did not catch a single glimpse of that affection.

You could argue his love died when he caught her cheating. Still, even during the film’s climax, the two actors have absolutely zero chemistry.

Is it a fun movie to watch? Yes. But once it’s over, there’s nothing pulling me back for a second viewing. At least it seems like the cast had a great time making it, which I guess makes up for its flaws.

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY premiered at SXSW on 14 March 2026. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 24 April.