Samara Weaving Helped Jason Segel Become a Horror Icon In Over Your Dead Body

The new film Over Your Dead Body, coming to theaters on April 24, 2026, from IFC and Shudder, stars horror and comedy favorites Jason Segel and Samara Weaving. Their on-screen chemistry is fantastic, and they both skillfully supported each other, offering guidance in areas of the horror genre where they felt less confident.

In the darkly comedic thriller Over Your Dead Body, Samara Weaving and Jason Segel play Lisa and Dan, a couple with a seriously broken relationship. They head to a remote cabin for a short getaway, but quickly reveal they both intend to murder each other. Things go from bad to worse when surprise visitors arrive, complicating their deadly plans.

Directed by Jorma Taccone, the film Over Your Dead Body features Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis (known for Yellowjackets), Keith Jardine, and other actors.

TopMob interviewed Samara Weaving and Jason Segel, who shared how supportive their fellow cast members were while filming.

Jason Segel, known for his roles in How I Met Your Mother and Shrinking, said he felt unsure of himself at first because he wasn’t familiar with many aspects of the horror genre. Fortunately, his co-star Samara Weaving was very knowledgeable and helped him understand how to convincingly portray violence, fear, and the more graphic parts of the story.

Samara Weaving, known for her roles in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and Azrael, shared that she hadn’t had much experience with comedy. Because of this, she relied heavily on her co-star, Jason, while filming the comedic scenes, as she felt unsure of herself.

I recently chatted with Samara Weaving and Jason Segel from TopMob about their new movie, and we also got to speak with director Jorma Taccone. He shared some fascinating insights into how they adapted the film, originally called The Trip, into Over Your Dead Body. You can find the full conversation and video interview below – it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in the making of the movie!

Samara Weaving Helped Jason Segel Dive Into Horror

“There Was a Lot of Stuff I Had No Idea How to Go.”

TopMob: “Jason, Samara is obviously a scream queen, known very much for her scream. Were you at all intimidated by that scream and the fact that you were going to have to match it at points in this movie?”

I was honestly a little intimidated because there was a lot I didn’t know how to do. I’ve tried a lot of different things over the years, but this project had a lot of new challenges for me. Samara Weaving really knew what she was doing, so I relied on her a lot, especially when it came to the action, the scary parts, and the more graphic scenes. I just hadn’t done that kind of thing before, and she was a fantastic teacher.

While Jason Segel Helped Samara Weaving Master Comedy

“I Felt Quite Vulnerable Doing the Really Comedic Stuff.”

TopMob: “Samara, you’ve obviously been in tons of horror. I’m curious, when it comes to this movie, how did this let you flex your genre chops in a way that you really hadn’t been able to before?”

I’m usually not the one doing comedy, so this role was a bit of a challenge. While my films sometimes have funny moments, I really relied on Jason for guidance when it came to the more comedic scenes, as I felt a little insecure. It was similar to how I helped him with the action parts – I was constantly asking if I was doing okay and if I was actually funny! It was definitely intimidating, but Jason was amazing, and I learned so much from both him and Jorma. Having them both on set was a huge help.

Jorma Taccone on Adapting ‘The Trip’ to ‘Over Your Dead Body’

The Biggest Change With the Adaptation Is a Wild Tonal Shift.

TopMob: “The movie is actually based on a Norwegian film called ‘The Trip.’ Can you talk about just the adaptation process and what you wanted to keep, take away, and then enhance for this audience?”

Jorma Taccone explained that it’s difficult to describe the changes as ‘enhancements’ because it really comes down to personal preference. He admitted he really enjoyed the original version, which was initially titled ‘In Bad Days’ before being renamed for its release on Netflix. He also mentioned a British comedy series called ‘The Trip’ and wondered about the reasoning behind its title.

I’m really pleased with how our ‘Over Your Dead Body’ adaptation turned out, as one of the many changes we implemented. Remaking a film is always daunting, especially when you admire the original. And the original, for me, has a really strong, dark, and intentionally angry tone – that was exactly what Tommy Wirkola was aiming for.

I really wanted to preserve the core intensity of the original story. While this version is actually more action-packed, I aimed to make the characters feel more sympathetic, so their ultimate fate would feel earned. A major change was adding Juliet Lewis’ character, which significantly altered the tone and created a balanced dynamic between the characters that I found really satisfying.

At its heart, this film explores the dynamics between men and women. My main goal was to be faithful to the original material, avoiding unnecessary changes to scenes that already worked well. I even tried to replicate the original’s visual style because altering those established scenes would have felt like simply showing off, rather than improving the film. Ultimately, I aimed for a subtle, overall shift in the film’s mood and atmosphere.

We also discovered something interesting while filming. There’s a dimly lit pool hall scene where we really wanted to strip Jason’s character down emotionally, almost to start over with him. We brought certain elements back from earlier drafts, but I particularly like how this version builds tension differently. The original film had moments designed to slow things down, but this one accelerates towards the ending, and I think that works really well.

The entire discussion with the cast and director of Over Your Dead Body can be watched below.

2026-04-21 03:38