Timothy Olyphant's Hit R-Rated Thriller Remake Gets Official Verdict From Original Director (Exclusive)

EXCLUSIVE: Critics aren't the only ones who were hooked by the Timothy Olyphant-starring Over Your Dead Body remake.

Jason Segel and Samara Weaving led the dark comedy thriller as struggling director Dan Burton and his wife, aspiring actor Lisa, as they go to their lakeside cabin in the hopes of trying to turn their marriage around, only for things to take a turn when they realize they're both plotting to kill each other. Olyphant stars in Over Your Dead Body as Pete, an escaped convict who further throws a wrench into the couple's weekend.

Also starring CSI vet Paul Guilfoyle, former UFC fighter Keith Jardine and Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis, Over Your Dead Body garnered largely positive reviews from critics in the wake of its South by Southwest Film Festival premiere, with praise directed towards its deft mix of pitch black comedy and unhinged violence, as well as the performances of its cast. Following a quiet theatrical release, the film has also become a proper streaming sensation.

Now, in an interview with ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns for the trailer launch of Violent Night 2, Tommy Wirkola has given his official verdict on Over Your Dead Body. Wirkola, who co-wrote and directed the Norwegian film The Trip that Olyphant's is a remake of, was very glowing in his response to the new movie, saying he "loved it" and praising its creative team for having "brought new stuff into it," even while staying true to the overall flow of his original:

Tommy Wirkola: Remakes are tough, you've got to find your own way in, and Jorma [Taccone] certainly did that. [It has an] amazing cast and all that. It's a strange sensation seeing your film being remade and [then] seeing it [when it's done]. But I thought they really delivered.

Wirkola went on to recall his initial excitement at the news of alum Jorma Taccone taking on the director's chair for Over Your Dead Body, describing himself as "such a huge fan" of the Lonely Island co-founder's movies. The writer/director specifically shared that he's "seen MacGruber countless times," as well as that of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which he co-directed with longtime Lonely Island co-founder and collaborator Akiva Schaffer, and Hot Rod, which Schaffer helmed solo:

Tommy Wirkola: So, the fact that he was coming on board to direct it was such a huge thing for me. So yeah, no, I love it and love him and the guys that did it.

When it comes to Hollywood remakes of international films, there are certainly far too many in which the original creatives are left disappointed by the end result, due to how much it differs from their original projects. Some of the more notable have included Robin Hardy lambasting Nicolas Cage's The Wicker Man pulling his name from all marketing over doubts about the 2006 film, and Kiefer Sutherland's The Vanishing and Blumhouse's Speak No Evil being sharply criticized for changing the dark endings of their original titles.

Before Over Your Dead Body came out, Taccone did acknowledge that there would be some changes made from Wirkola's The Trip, which earned a solid 83% approval rating from critics and 81% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes after its 2021 debut. Primarily, the filmmaker wanted to bring his unique sense of humor to the film, though didn't want to remove the sharper energy and violence of the original, which was abundantly clear with some of the remake's gruesome deaths.

For those who either haven't seen the new film, or its source material, Wirkola's glowing verdict of Over Your Dead Body is sure to come as a major two-fold boon for both Taccone's remake and The Trip. Plus, with Olyphant's new film already dominating streaming around the world, the Norwegian original may soon find itself enjoying something of a Netflix resurgence from those curious to compare the two.