Movie Reviews: Over Your Dead Body & Pretty Lethal
- Faiz Faisal
- 6 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Over Your Dead Body is a 2026 American dark action-comedy thriller directed by Jorma Taccone. It serves as an English-language remake of the critically acclaimed 2021 Norwegian film The Trip (I Onde Dager). Starring Jason Segel and Samara Weaving, the film follows a married couple whose secluded getaway is anything but romantic. Unknown to each other, both have secretly planned to murder their spouse. Before either can carry out their elaborate scheme, their plans are violently interrupted when three escaped convicts invade the cabin, forcing the couple to work together if they want to survive the night.
I'm generally not the biggest fan of Hollywood remakes, especially when the original film is only a few years old. The Trip came out in 2021, so remaking it just five years later felt a little unnecessary. That said, I went into Over Your Dead Body with an open mind because I genuinely enjoyed the original.
One thing the remake undeniably does better is the gore. If you're looking for bloodier kills and a more action-packed experience, this version definitely delivers. It embraces the Hollywood approach of making everything bigger, louder, and more explosive.
My biggest issue with this remake is how much it softens the relationship between the main couple.
In the Norwegian original, you can genuinely feel the hatred they have for one another. Every interaction is awkward, uncomfortable, and filled with resentment. It makes their murderous intentions feel believable because you completely understand why they've reached that point.
Here, however, there's an underlying sense of sympathy between the two characters almost from the beginning. While that may make them easier to root for, it also lowers the emotional stakes. I never truly believed they wanted each other dead in the same way the original convinced me.
The remake also moves at a much faster pace. Instead of slowly building the tension, it jumps into the action much earlier. Depending on your taste, this could either be a positive or a negative. Personally, I preferred the slow-burn approach because it allowed the characters and their toxic relationship to breathe.
With that being said, I don't think this remake is bad at all.
In fact, I think both versions succeed—they're just aiming for different audiences.
If you're someone who enjoys fast-paced action, over-the-top violence, and a movie that wastes no time getting to the chaos, then Over Your Dead Body will probably be the version you enjoy more.
But if you're more interested in character psychology and watching two deeply broken people slowly unravel before everything explodes, then I still think The Trip remains the superior film.
I also appreciate that this remake doesn't completely abandon the source material. It respects the original story while adding a distinctly American flavour to it, making it feel more like an adaptation than a scene-for-scene copy.
Over Your Dead Body is an entertaining remake that successfully modernizes The Trip for a wider audience. It sacrifices some of the original's uncomfortable realism and psychological tension in favor of bigger action, more gore, and a faster pace. While I still prefer the Norwegian version overall, this remake is far from a failure and stands well enough on its own.
Rating: 7/10
A fun, bloody remake that doesn't quite capture the emotional tension of the original, but delivers enough thrills and entertainment to make it worth the watch.
Pretty Lethal is a 2026 action-thriller directed by Vicky Jewson and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios. The film follows a talented but dysfunctional Los Angeles ballet troupe traveling to Europe for a prestigious competition. When their bus breaks down in the middle of a remote forest, the dancers seek shelter at a creepy roadside inn run by a mysterious former ballet prodigy named Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman). After witnessing a brutal crime, the girls find themselves trapped and hunted by dangerous criminals. To survive the night, they must put aside their rivalries and use years of ballet training to fight back in the most unexpected ways.
I originally wanted to watch this movie the moment it dropped on Amazon Prime, but I unfortunately got locked out of my account and completely forgot about it until recently. I've always loved the concept of a group of women trapped in a single location, forced to fend for themselves, and I'm a sucker for badass female-led action movies. On top of that, Maddie Ziegler is the lead, and I've always enjoyed seeing her on screen. Here, she gets to showcase a tougher, more action-oriented side of herself, and honestly, she pulls it off quite well.
To be completely honest, Pretty Lethal is just a genuinely fun movie to watch. It's one of those films where you can switch your brain off, grab some snacks, and enjoy the ride. The movie balances its violent moments with a lighter, energetic tone, making the whole experience surprisingly entertaining. The gore is satisfying without feeling excessive, and the cast does a solid job bringing their characters to life despite the straightforward storyline.
That said, the movie isn't without its flaws. My biggest disappointment is how underutilized Uma Thurman feels. When you cast someone with her action pedigree, you naturally expect a little more. Her character has an intriguing presence, but the film never fully explores her potential. I also felt that the ending arrived a little too abruptly. After spending time building tension throughout the movie, the third act feels somewhat rushed and leaves you wanting a bit more payoff.
Another issue I had was with the ballet gimmick itself. While the concept is creative on paper, the execution can be a little hit-or-miss. There are moments where the dancers' training naturally translates into the action scenes, and those moments are genuinely cool. But there are also several instances where it feels like the filmmakers are trying a little too hard to remind us that these are ballerinas. Some of the choreography crosses the line from creative to slightly cringeworthy, making certain fight sequences feel more gimmicky than believable.
Still, despite its shortcomings, I had a good time with Pretty Lethal. It's stylish, fast-paced, and packed with enough action and gore to keep genre fans entertained. It may not reinvent the survival thriller genre, but it knows exactly what kind of movie it wants to be and largely succeeds at delivering that experience.
Rating: 6/10
A fun, bloody thriller that occasionally trips over its own concept, but remains entertaining enough for a casual movie night.
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