MISSING AMERICAN IN THE BAHAMAS: 

A photograph captures Lynette and Brian Hooker aboard a small boat in 2023, their expressions serene against the backdrop of open waters. This image, taken by John Waters, highlights a moment of tranquility now overshadowed by uncertainty.

Federal investigators have secured permission from Bahamian authorities to send a dive team into a newly designated search area within the Sea of Abaco. This development marks a significant step in the search for Lynette Hooker, as confirmed by a U.S. official involved in the investigation. The renewed focus on this zone follows the discovery of GPS data sourced from a marine navigation app on Brian Hooker’s phone. These findings reportedly challenge his initial narrative regarding the night Lynette disappeared.

This dramatic turn of events has led to an intensified search effort approved by Bahamian officials, targeting a specific 25-foot-deep area. Sources indicate that this location was specifically flagged by the GPS data, raising questions about Brian Hooker’s account and offering a new direction for the investigation.

Intriguingly, the sailboat’s tracking data reportedly went silent for an 11-hour period on the night Lynette went missing, adding another layer of mystery to the case. As authorities delve deeper into these new leads, the search for Lynette continues, driven by an ocean of unanswered questions. The hope remains that this latest effort will bring clarity and perhaps closure to a case that has captivated the public and puzzled investigators alike.

OCEAN OF QUESTIONS: Sailboat tracking data went dark for 11 hours the night missing American vanished in the Bahamas

NIGHT OVERBOARD: Missing American’s husband had $33K thermal camera on boat that night and never used it, friend says

ALEX MURDAUGH: 

Former Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill closes her eyes with a coffee mug on a swing outside her South Carolina home on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Hill is facing a civil lawsuit from disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh, whose murder convictions in the deaths of his wife and son were reversed earlier this month after Hill allegedly influenced jurors on the case. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)

Becky Hill, the woman at the center of the collapse of Alex Murdaugh’s double murder convictions, appeared calm and quiet Saturday morning, lounging on a swinging bench outside her South Carolina home after breakfast, in new photos obtained by Fox News Digital. The state is now expected to prepare for a retrial of Murdaugh, who was initially handed two consecutive life sentences for the deaths of his wife and son.

SCALES TIPPED: Alex Murdaugh trial clerk reemerges after explosive ruling upends murder conviction

BACK IN COURT: Key names to know as Murdaugh double-murder case gets stunning reset

ANNA KEPNER: 

Timothy Hudson enters Miami Federal Court with a public defender on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. He was charged in connection with the death of his stepsister, Anna Kepner, on a Carnival Cruise in November 2025. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)

Timothy Hudson, the teenage stepbrother accused in the death of 18-year-old Anna Kepner aboard a Carnival cruise ship, will remain free until his trial, a judge ruled Wednesday, as new details and a timeline of the alleged killing were unsealed in court records.

CABIN HORROR: Prosecutors describe cruise ship killing of Anna Kepner as ‘barbaric’ act

DOCKED IN COURT: Teen stepbrother accused of killing Anna Kepner on Carnival cruise remains free before trial

DISCOVERY NEAR GUTHRIE SITE

Prehistoric human remains found just miles from the suspected abduction of Nancy Guthrie are believed to have been buried between several hundred and 1,000 years ago, an expert said. That discovery has unearthed a grim reality of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.

BURIED SECRETS: Skeleton found near Nancy Guthrie’s home reveals a far older mystery

COLD CASES CRACKED: 

Randy Gail Sperino, left, was found killed in rural Granite City, Illinois, in 1993. Albert “Buddy” Zigler, right, was charged more than three decades later after investigators used forensic genealogy DNA to reopen the case. (Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office)

Authorities make an arrest in the 33-year-old cold case surrounding Randy Gail Sperino’s alleged murder, and a backyard dig puts a husband and mother-in-law behind bars. 

TRACE TO FACE: DNA breakthrough leads to arrest in grisly 33-year-old cold case investigators never gave up on

BURIED SECRETS: Husband, mother-in-law busted in woman’s cold-case murder amid backyard dig: police

TOM SELLECK SCAM: 

Donald and Karen Whitaker were found dead in their California home. (Joy Miedecke)

California authorities are investigating the deaths of 80-year-old Donald Whitaker and 79-year-old Karen Whitaker as a possible murder-suicide after officials said Karen Whitaker had fallen victim to an online romance scam involving someone impersonating actor Tom Selleck. Friends and investigators said Karen Whitaker allegedly sent money and gift cards to the scammer despite repeated warnings from loved ones, while authorities noted there is no evidence directly linking the scammer to the couple’s deaths.

FATAL FANTASY: Murder-suicide probe underway after alleged Tom Selleck impersonator scam targeted woman

HOLLYWOOD HOAX: Slayings rock quiet town after alleged Tom Selleck catfish targeted woman before couple found dead: friend

HOT STORIES: 

Thomas Gilbert, Jr. appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, January 9, 2015. Gilbert was convicted of fatally shooting his father, hedge fund manager Thomas Gilbert, Sr. At left is his defense attorney Alex Spiro.  (Photo By: Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

Manhattan’s “Golden Boy” speaks out about his murder conviction after killing his father more than a decade ago, a two-decades-long mystery surrounds the identity of a man found unconscious behind a Georgia Burger King and a potential lawsuit hurdle arises for a man accused of “inadvertently” shooting his son’s girlfriend. 

SILVER SPOONFALL: ‘Golden boy’ Ivy League grad who murdered hedge-fund dad over allowance speaks out in new interview

LOADED QUESTION: Gunmaker lawsuit after Auburn grad’s death faces major obstacle, attorney warns

VANISHING ACT: Man found naked behind Burger King with amnesia may have concealed mysterious past for decades

Christine Taylor recently candidly discussed her prolonged separation from husband Ben Stiller, shedding light on the journey that ultimately led them to reconcile.

The Brady Bunch Movie actress, 54, left no stone unturned during a recent interview on the McBride Rewind podcast, admitting that phase of her marriage to the Zoolander star was ‘challenging.’

Speaking with host Josh McBride, Taylor reflected, “At that point, we were just not aligned on many aspects.” She revealed that discussing it now is easier, but admitted, “In the moment, it was incredibly tough to make that decision.”

She emphasized that the choice to separate was neither taken lightly nor without emotional turmoil. “It was accompanied by a heavy heart, feeling disheartened because it wasn’t the outcome I had envisioned, and I believed we should have been able to resolve our differences,” Taylor shared.

Despite their challenges, the couple, who chose the Met Gala over a Knicks game last month, tied the knot in 2000 and are parents to two children, Ella, 24, and Quinlin, 20. They first announced their separation in 2017.

The couple – who snubbed a Knicks game to attend the Met Gala last month – wed in 2000 and had two children, Ella, 24, and Quinlin, 20. They announced their separation in 2017.

Christine Taylor spoke about her years-long separation from husband Ben Stiller and what finally led them to give their marriage another chance on the McBride Rewind podcast

‘I think at that moment in time for us we weren’t on the same page with a lot of things,’ Taylor told host Josh McBride about the couple’s decision to separate in 2017; Stiller and Taylor pictured at the Met Gala on May 4

‘Through it all, we were always in contact. We were co-parenting together. We were spending time together as a family,’ Taylor said.

The ‘silver lining’ of the pandemic acted as a forced pause, allowing them to re-evaluate their relationship.

‘If there’s a silver lining for us during Covid, that was the little gift,’ Taylor explained.

‘We all kind of bubbled up together with our kids. Our daughter was graduating high school at the time, our son was graduation eighth grade. We all were in the house together and we had nothing but time.

‘So Ben and I spent a lot of time just working on us with a therapist and we’d log into Zoom and we’d do our therapy sessions and really found the way back,’ she said, adding: ‘I think it’s something people don’t love to talk about because it feels like a failure.’

She went on: ‘By the way, if the right answer for us was that it didn’t work, but we were able to figure that out very clearly and focused, then that’s great too. 

‘Life moves at such a rapid pace that we don’t often take the time to just pause and say, “Okay, he looked at his stuff, I looked at my stuff”… long-term marriages are a lot of work.’

Taylor stated that she and Stiller emerged from the tough time ‘really stronger and better than ever. And I feel really comfortable talking about it because I think it’s really important for people to feel like that’s okay.’

The Brady Bunch Movie actress, 54, said the ‘silver lining’ for them was the pandemic: ‘Ben and I spent a lot of time just working on us with a therapist’; pictured in April

Stiller – seen with Taylor at a Knicks game in New York City in April where Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner also sat front row – previously said their marriage works now because they accept each other’s differences

Taylor said that she and Stiller came out ‘really stronger and better than ever’; the couple are pictured in September 2025 in Los Angeles

In a 2022 Esquire interview, Stiller confirmed they’d gotten back together during the pandemic while living under one roof with their children.

Having that space to talk without everyday distractions allowed their relationship to mend in all the right places.

‘We were separated and got back together and we’re happy about that. It’s been really wonderful for all of us. Unexpected, and one of the things that came out of the pandemic,’ the actor shared.

He said their marriage works now because they accept each other’s differences and similarities.

Kevin O’Leary, a prominent figure on “Shark Tank,” and the Trump administration have suggested that anti-data center sentiments across the United States are being driven by a Chinese propaganda effort.

O’Leary, who faces protests against his proposed 40,000-acre data center near Salt Lake City, alleged in a video released on Monday that accounts linked to China are spreading false information about his project. He described this campaign as a strategic attempt to undermine American AI infrastructure.

Supporting this claim, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared on Fox Business on Tuesday, aligning with O’Leary’s perspective.

“Communities aiming to establish data centers are encountering an onslaught of propaganda directed from abroad, aimed at preventing their development,” Burgum stated. “This represents yet another assault on the United States and our competitive edge globally.”

O’Leary presented “90 pages of evidence” which he claimed showed substantial financial backing, amounting to “millions, hundreds of millions of dollars,” being channeled from international sources to orchestrate misinformation campaigns specifically targeting his data center project.

And he isn’t the only one to arrive at such conclusions — at least three reports from tech and Trump-aligned thinktanks and non-profits, including the Bitcoin Policy Institute, Power the Future and the American Energy Institute, drew similar conclusions about Chinese meddling in US data-center sentiments in studies of their own.

“The opposition to US data center construction is not a spontaneous grassroots movement,” a recent American Energy Institute report read. “It is a coordinated campaign financed in substantial part by foreign donors, operating through a network of national advocacy organizations and their local chapters.”

But at least two of the groups named in those reports told the Washington Post they had nothing to do with a foreign influence campaign against data centers — and that they were baffled by the allegations.

“These reports are false, misleading and an attempt by big crypto special interests to manipulate the public into accepting data centers,” said spokesperson for the Wyss Foundation, an environmental conservation and Democratic party non-profit.

The anti-war group Code Pink, also named in the reports, called the claims “false and defamatory” — while a spokesperson for Alliance for a Better Utah, who O’Leary mentioned in his claims, called the Chinese allegations “laughable.”

O’Leary’s data center has been met with the kind of backlash many have faced as they’ve begun to crop up across the country to meet the rising computing needs of AI systems.

Many locals have decried having the massive facilities — warehouses filled with computer servers, often covering hundreds or thousands of acres — dropped in their communities, while others have raised fears about water and power costs going up, along with real estate being devalued.

Some have also raised concerns about how such facilities could affect the health of surrounding communities.

About 70% of Americans oppose the developments, according to a 2026 Gallup survey, with many fearing negative societal effects and job losses from AI proliferation.

But O’Leary has insisted his project — called the Stratos Project, in Box Elder, Utah — is taking every precaution to roll out responsibly, telling NBC News Thursday that the project would be developed in stages over 10 years to ensure local safety concerns were met.

He also said only about 9,000 acres of the project’s 40,000-acre plot would be used after that time, and that upwards of 6,000 jobs would be brought to the area — which he also said was in nobody’s backyard, but in the middle of remote and arid pasturelands.

Some opponents still aren’t convinced, however, and think O’Leary and the Trump administration’s claims of a Chinese plot are a clear sign of big tech trying to pull out the stops to get what it wants.

“This is like gaslighting 101,” said activist and three-time Trump voter Kyle Schmidt, who organized opposition to an Arizona data center despite his president’s strong support for the tech industry.

“They are saying, ‘Trust me. It is not what you think. It is what I am telling you,’” he added. “I would love to sit down with Mr. Wonderful and ask him, do you want one of these in your backyard?”

CHICAGO (WLS) — A significant gathering at 57th Street Beach on Monday resulted in the arrest of several youths. The incident underscores the need for safer alternatives as the city approaches the summer months.

In anticipation of the summer season, some residents of Chicago are actively seeking to provide young people with secure and meaningful activities to engage in.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement on Friday afternoon urging vigilance: “As we approach the weekend, I call upon parents, guardians, and trusted adults to help steer clear of unsanctioned gatherings involving teens. Stay informed about your children’s whereabouts and discuss the potential dangers of these events with them.”

He further advised, “To the youth of Chicago: refrain from attending these gatherings, as they can rapidly become volatile and have serious repercussions. The Chicago Police Department will be upholding curfew and other relevant laws, while community violence intervention teams will be present to ensure the safety of young people.”

Mayor Johnson also highlighted the city’s commitment to its youth: “Chicago is making investments in its young people. Today marks the final opportunity to apply for Chicago Youth Works, the city’s summer employment initiative. I urge young individuals to apply and use the My CHI. My Future. app to explore summer opportunities.”

“Stay safe, look out for one another and choose opportunities that invest in your future.”

Outreach worker James Mitchell prepared with his team to find out where kids might be gathering Friday evening. They like to be in the space first to get to know the teens and set the tone for a drama-free zone.

“Wanting to be social is what we want for our young people we want them to be come out and be safe and we want the residents to be able to enjoy the city it belongs to all of us,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell was at 57th Street Beach Monday, where the crowd of young people grew and got out of hand. He is the Field Manager of the Crisis Intervention and Response Unit at Metropolitan Peace Initiative. The outreach team tries to stay ahead of trends and make sure teens understand the consequences of bad decisions and connect them to other options.

“The goal is to collaborate with park districts and a lot of entities in the city and find out what would be the best fit for our young people,” Mitchell said.

Diane Latiker with Kids Off The Block has worked with thousands of young people in the Pullman Roseland area. She makes sure they feel genuine care and guidance. She saw they needed a safe space, so she took over a vacant lot across the street.

“I want them to feel better I want them to feel better in their community so they don’t feel like they have to go downtown to do anything,” Latiker said.

They will be working out Saturday at Mollison Elementary school. Trainers from Phenomenal Fitness are volunteering for a Restore the Youth Field Take Over.

Trainer Sunny Akhigbe also founded A Boy and His Dream. His experience of being abandoned as an infant motivated him to make sure young people feel valued, so he created the free teen event Saturday.

“We will show them respect while encouraging to behave and behave right and be a good citizen,” Akhigbe said. “I think is what the community desperately needs now and the best way to do that is to demonstration they are loved.”

Akhigbe urges young people to use their phone to register for Saturday’s field day instead of tracking the next teen meetup. He says parents are welcome too.

More information can be found here.

A Florida sheriff’s deputy is under fire online after a body camera video went viral, showing him issuing a ticket to a woman for allegedly using a cellphone with her right hand—even though she disclosed that her right arm ends at the elbow.

The incident unfolded in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, back in February when 36-year-old Kathleen Thomas was pulled over by a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. According to the officer, Thomas was supposedly holding a cellphone in her right hand.

This week, the public got a closer look as body camera footage of the encounter was released, capturing the moment when the deputy’s assumption was challenged.

In the video, the officer can be seen cautioning Thomas about the perils of distracted driving. However, Thomas chose to respond not with words but by showing her right arm, which ends at the forearm, clearly defying the deputy’s claims.

In related news, the mayor of Jacksonville has described a viral video involving police as ‘disturbing’ as the investigation continues.

Newly-released body camera video shows a woman with one hand being cited for allegedly holding a phone while driving. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office /TMX)

“So obviously not,” Thomas said, bursting into laughter in the now viral clip. “So you want to just call this a day or…?”

“I don’t want to call a day. You had a hand manipulator,” the deputy said. “I thought I saw your hand.”

MICHIGAN JUDGE BLASTS WOMAN FOR DRIVING DURING ZOOM COURT HEARING: ‘DO YOU THINK I’M THAT STUPID?’

“Well you didn’t,” Thomas replied.

The deputy then appeared to backtrack, saying, “With the right hand, perhaps not,” before continuing the stop.

GOT A TIP?

The case drew widespread attention after the driver posted video of the traffic stop on TikTok, where she questioned the deputy’s claim that he saw a device in her “right hand.” She said she does not have a right hand. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office /TMX)

WATCH: MOST OUTRAGEOUS COURTROOM MOMENTS AND POLICE ENCOUNTERS THAT WENT VIRAL IN 2024

The unnamed officer continued to insist that he saw a phone. Thomas, once again, showed her right arm. At one point during the exchange, the officer appealed to a higher power.

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“Hand to God, you did not have your phone in your hand?” he was heard asking her in the video.

“Hand to God,” Thomas replied, holding up her right hand.

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“Other hand to God,” the officer said, as Thomas lifted her left arm.

During the viral traffic stop, the woman, identified as Katie, has an uncomfortable interaction with a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy after he accused her of holding a phone in her right hand while driving. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office /TMX)

The awkward interaction has since exploded online, generating millions of views across Instagram, TikTok and X as users criticized the stop and questioned why the deputy continued issuing the ticket after the apparent mistake.

Sheriff’s department responds

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Palm Beach Sheriff Department’s Public Information Officer/Director of the Bureau of Public Affairs Terri Barbera said that the department is “committed to enforcing Florida traffic laws.”

Barbera said that Thomas’ citation was ultimately dismissed.

“In this particular case, the deputy initiated a traffic stop based upon his visual observation at the time of the incident. After additional review of the Florida State Statutes involved and based upon the totality of the circumstances, specifically the lack of clarity on how violations are labeled in our citation software, the decision was ultimately made to dismiss based upon the difference in wording between Florida State Statute 316.305 and 316.306,” Barbera said.

Barbera said that officers are required to make decisions “based on observations made in real time.”

“As with any enforcement action, motorists have the right to contest citations through the judicial process, where all facts and evidence can be fully evaluated.”

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A federal judge, appointed during Barack Obama’s presidency, has issued a ruling preventing Donald Trump from having his name added to the Kennedy Center.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper determined that the decision by the Kennedy Center Board, which includes members appointed by the President, to incorporate Trump’s name into the performing arts center was not lawful.

The lawsuit against Trump was brought forward by Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty. Beatty is involved in the case due to her role as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, a position she holds as a member of Congress.

Judge Cooper clarified in his ruling that “The Kennedy Center’s founding legislation explicitly states that the venue is to be named after President Kennedy. It cannot assume any other formal name or public memorial designation based solely on the Board’s unilateral decision.”

He further emphasized, “The name of the Kennedy Center was designated by Congress, and only Congress possesses the authority to alter it.”

Cooper also ruled that Trump could not close the center for two years for renovations. 

In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump savaged the ruling and said he would work with Congress to transfer the Kennedy Center from the Department of Commerce back to Capitol Hill ‘giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management.’

‘Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself!’ the President said.  

Workers added President Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the Kennedy Center in December. A federal judge ruled Friday that Trump’s name cannot be included 

Donald Trump with First Lady Melania Trump in the president’s box at the Kennedy Center during the opening night of Chicago in March 

‘We are confident that on appeal the court will uphold the board’s will to recognize President Trump’s historic contributions to our nation’s cultural center,’ spokesman Roma Daravi additionally told the Daily Mail in a statement. 

Beatty’s office did not return a call from the Daily Mail.  

In December, Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously to rename the performing arts center ‘The Donald J Trump and The John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.’ 

A day later, workers were seen adding new lettering to the building’s historic mid-century facade.   

That prompted an outcry from members of the public and the Kennedy family, as the arts center was intended to be a functioning memorial to President John F. Kennedy. 

Congress had dedicated the planned arts center to JFK in 1964, the year following his assassination.    

Trump had put the center under the control of Richard Grenell, who was the President’s acting Director of National Intelligence during his first term, and was also serving as a special envoy while in the Kennedy Center post. 

The facade of the Kennedy Center in January after Trump’s name was added to the facade of the historic performing arts center

Attendance sagged, however, as some artists staged boycotts and others were scrubbed from the schedule for being too ‘woke.’ 

Grenell warned the Daily Mail in December that the building was in such disrepair that some engineers suggested tearing down the landmark and starting over. 

In February, Trump announced that the ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ would close for two years so the building could be renovated. 

And in March, the President announced Grenell would be stepping down. 

The Kennedy Center was set to close on July 5, a day after the country’s 250th birthday celebration.

In his ruling Friday, Cooper said not so fast – saying that repairs could go forward and a closure could be lawful, if the board was more thoughtful. 

Cooper said the board’s closure decision was based on ‘an insufficient, one-sided presentation of information’ and ‘neglected to consider the full range of its statutory obligations and potential adverse consequences of closure on programming and memorial functions.’ 

Daravi said the judge’s decision will be carefully reviewed, ‘though the reality remains – the center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges.’

Signage outside the Kennedy Center includes the President’s name

‘With $257million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy,’ Daravi added. 

Maria Shriver, the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, JFK’s sister, pointed out that the news couldn’t have happened on a better day – JFK’s birthday. 

‘An appropriate birthday present on my uncle’s birthday today. A federal judge ruled that President Trump and the Kennedy Center Board acted unlawfully in renaming the Kennedy Center,’ she posted to X. ‘The judge held that only Congress can change the Center’s name and blocked the planned two-year closure.’ 

‘I know they’ll probably appeal and the story isn’t over, but for today let’s celebrate a great birthday gift,’ she said. 

Over Your Dead Body (now available on streaming services like Amazon Prime Video) presents a captivating concept: Jorma Taccone, a member of the comedic group The Lonely Island, directs a film featuring Samara Weaving and Jason Segel as a couple scheming to kill each other, alongside Timothy Olyphant and Juliette Lewis playing eccentric characters. This American adaptation of Tommy Wirkola’s outrageously violent Norwegian black comedy, The Trip, didn’t make waves in theaters, earning just $2 million, a fate humorously foreshadowed by its own meta-commentary on the streaming era. Despite its intriguing premise, the film seems to have slipped under many radars. Let’s find out if it deserves your attention.

The Gist: Did he seriously just flaunt his used tissue? And is she really munching that protein bar with her mouth wide open? These are mere glimpses into how deeply this couple irritates one another—to the point of death. Their relationship is so toxic that in the opening scenes, Dan (Segel) is seen stashing duct tape, rope, and a hacksaw in the car trunk while overtly announcing their trip to the cabin, where his wife Lisa (Weaving) plans a perilous solo mountain hike. Hmm, seems like a bit of premeditation there. Both are unlikable: He’s a failed director relegated to creating pop-up ads, and she’s a not-so-gifted stage actress. They remain together for reasons we can only speculate—likely a complex web of dysfunction, as marriages often are.

Things take a turn when Dan prepares what he mistakenly believes to be Lisa’s favorite meal, intending it to be her last. But as he attempts to incapacitate her with chloroform, Lisa retaliates with a taser, initiating a cascade of bodily fluids and comedic flashbacks. In these flashbacks, Lisa echoes Dan’s announcement of their cabin trip, with the absurd twist that Dan wants them to go hunting. Clearly, they share more than just a mutual murder plot; they’re equally inept at executing it.

The chaos escalates as Dan and Lisa engage in a physical altercation, leading to bloodshed, gun threats, and the accidental death of Dan’s dim-witted partner, Henry (Jake Curran). Amidst this chaos, the ceiling gives way, crashing down under the weight of three bumbling escapees: Todd (Keith Jardine), Pete (Olyphant), and their crooked cop ally Allegra (Lewis). With Dan and Lisa now bound in the basement, their previous grievances—his financial ruin and her infidelity—seem trivial. Perhaps the tale suggests that battling psychotic criminals together is a more exciting, albeit dangerous, alternative to marriage counseling.

And it might just be easier on the wallet, too.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Well, this isn’t exactly a Bergman-level exploration of marriage dynamics. It’s The War of the Roses as directed by the Coen Bros, if they didn’t know when to stop.

Performance Worth Watching: Let’s just say Lewis’ forehead veins come out to PLAY as she and Olyphant fully unhinge themselves.

Sex And Skin: A not-too-graphic sex scene featuring Olyphant’s glutes and a close-up of another butt getting buckshot plucked from the meat; otherwise, the word “graphic” is reserved for all the maiming and bloodletting and shooting-in-the-face-ing.

Our Take: Over Your Dead Body is a grocery list of nasty misdeeds and bodily fluids: Mangled limbs, knives in backs, hacked-off fingers, bitten-off noses, an utterly vile prison-sex wrestling match, all resulting in blood, urine, barf, and various glops and liquids painting the scenery. It had me wondering if we’d seen any spinal fluid hit the dirt, and if it had, would we have noticed, because is spinal fluid colorless? The mind wanders. 

But it wanders only after the fact, because the film keeps us present with extreme prejudice. It’s hard to look away as it veers from a functional acerbic Bickersons poisoned-relationship comedy into a brutal live-action cartoon that’s essentially a 21st-century sadistic Looney Tunes. As bones snap, pancreases are lacerated by kitchen knives and pitchforks, and faces are shot off with shotguns without a single utterance of “Wabbit season!”, we rollercoaster through crayzee cutaways and twists as Taccone and the cast work to one-up each successive nasty, nasty scene. There are moments here that are so shockingly repugnant, laughter leapt from my esophagus in an act of self-preservation. Is this stuff truly funny? Yeah, kind of, and I’m not particularly proud to admit that. (Note: One thing that remains not particularly funny at all is the ironic needle drop of an upbeat song over a scene of extreme violence. Banish this trope to the moon of Uranus!)

But the heart elucidates what the brain cannot, or something, I guess. The issue some will have with Over Your Dead Body is the gross putrescence of these ucky characters – who gets our emotional investment, the killers over here or the killers over there? Do we root for Dan and Lisa’s happily ever after, or would you rather see all of them end up on the vulture-feeding pile? I have no good answer for that. This is quite the assemblage of assholes, like a parade of donkeys that stopped to lift tail and let rip. You get the sense that Taccone wouldn’t want it any other way.

Our Call: If you made it this far, you already know if this is Your Kind Of Movie or not. For me, it worked more in fits and starts than poops and farts. STREAM IT, but know what you’re getting into first. 

John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Werner Herzog hugged him once.