In this end of Summer Episode of Off the Record we have a big mix of genres to report on.

Ken, Stewart and Tyler sit down to watch Exit 8 from 2025. A curiosity by Tyler, the film starts off on a nice foot, but soon becomes repetitive and not too interesting. Exit 8 is a video game puzzle film that is popular among the young and in Japanese culture. Directed by Genki Kawamura and written by himself as well as Kotake Create and Kentaro Hirase. The film pretty much follows the same concept as the popular video game, which is available on steam. Ken and Stewart were not impressed, while Tyler seem more on board with this lost in a train tunnel exit (pun not intended.)

Rasto then gives his short review on American Gods the TV series from 2017 and on. Created by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green with Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning and Yetide as starring actors. The series is about a new set of pagan gods who are not too happy that humanity no longer worships them. In their desperation they come up with new titles of modern culture to become the new gods. However the former god of war has other plans for the group. Rasto was somewhat hopeful for the series, despite not getting through the entirety of it and instead focused on the first two seasons.

As the episode progresses, Stewart does his comparison of the 2021 film The Trip by Tommy Wirkola which is the original film that Over Your Dead Body is based on (English American Remake.) The film seems to be a bit more savage and serious than the American remake.

Ken then burns what is left of the film ‘ASH’ which is a 2025 Sci-Fi horror. Directed by the Flying Lotus and staring Eiza Gonzalez. Unfortunately the film left a burnt taste in both Ken’s and Stewart’s mouth. It seems the plot may of been thrown into the fire. Ken however would still like the praise the Flying Lotus for his attempts at making this film look good and his abilities.

Finally Rasto brings us back to a common genre we have covered numerous times with the film Deliver Us from Evil from 2014. According to Rasto this is a somewhat faithful attempt at how an Exorcist clone or style should be, unlike most of the slop out there. Written and Directed by Scott Derrickson starring Eric Bana.

Stewart wraps up the episode with a hot take on Star Trek Strange New Worlds, and this indeed is one strange new world we live in with this mess of episodes that range from bad to good and good to bad.

Rastislav, Stewart and Ken return with a pick that is sure to please. Over Your Dead Body from 2026 was recently released on Amazon Prime as a freebie but was originally released to independent film festivals and 1500 theatres.

This is a 2021 adaptation of the Tommy Wirkola film The Trip. Wanting an English version of this film, he came on to get the production going. By 2024 the film was taken over by Jorma Taccone as director, and Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney as screen writers. The film was then renamed to ‘Over Your Dead Body.’ Like Tommy Wirkola’s other films, this is a gory, violent, over the top horror/thriller with plenty of goofy moments with a pinch of no matter how bad things get, things can be worked out.

The film starts with the married couple, who have marital differences, and begin to plot the others murder behind the others’ back. Jason Segal who plays Dan intends to take her to a remote cabin on a lake for a vacation and then have her dumped into the lake after killing her. Unknown to him, his wife Lisa, played by Samara Weaving also has a plan to murder him by telling her friends they are going on a hunting trip, and to plan a ‘hunting accident.’ The two find each other’s plan and begin an all-out war for survival, but their plans become sidetracked when 2 recently escaped convicts and their corrupt corrections officer break into the cabin and hide in the attic. Now the war is not only between husband and wife, but also between husband, wife, and the convicts.

The consensus is that this film is worthy of its name. There are plenty of goofy moments, over the top gore, and ketchup to satisfy lovers of this genre. This is not a film for families or those sensitive to violence. But for everyone else, it is an easy to watch film with great actors. If you like our over review of Dead Snow also by Tommy Wirkola, then this film is for you.

Directed by Jorma Taccone and originally written by Tommy Wirkola, Nick Ball and John Iven. Major actors are Jason Segal, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphant, Keith Jardine, Juliette Lewis and Jake Curran. Rated 18A for violence, gore, some nudity and swearing. It has runtime of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Stewart, Rastislav and Ken brave the summer heat to bring you their June 2026 (reboot-heavy) picks; Stewart and Ken lead off with their takes on Masters of the Universe, this summer’s big budget reboot of the Mattel toy property. They both enjoyed the Travis Knight-directed film more than the 1987 film (even though they liked Dolph’s cameo!) and would be happy to watch a sequel if it can overcome its lacklustre box office earnings. They had some misgivings about the overabundance of jokey dialogue but the action, music and special effects kept them amused.

Rastislav follows with his greater pick, the 2022-2025 Netflix series The Recruit; he enjoyed this story of a CIA lawyer dealing with attempts to expose classified information and being thrown in at the deep end. He praises stars Noah Centineo and Vondie Curtis-Hall, noting that Centineo has progressed from his earlier, youth-oriented projects. He also enjoyed that it felt less like a conventional spy thriller and more like a chaotic legal drama/comedy.

Moving on to lesser picks, Ken gives his still-favourable view on another 80s reboot, specifically 2025’s Canadian production Deathstalker. Starring Daniel Bernhardt and Patton Oswalt, it has a much lower budget than MOTU but that is part of its video store era charm. There isn’t as much female nudity as in earlier genre efforts, which may disappoint aficionados; the practical effects-driven approach makes it worth a watch nonetheless.

Stewart’s lesser pick is M3GAN 2.0; he was not amused by its hard left babyface turn, making M3GAN into a Terminator-like hero fighting a government conspiracy and internet memes. He calls it an AI slopfest and says “AV01D!”

Rastislav’s lesser but still worthwhile pick is the 2018-2020 AT&T series Condor starring Max Irons, Leem Lubany and the late William Hurt. It is an update of the classic Robert Redford thriller Three Days of the Condor. He felt that the current state of surveillance technology is well-suited for a modern retelling. He also enjoyed Irons and Lubany as substitutes for the adversaries originally played by Redford and Max von Sydow.

Stewart ends this edition with a dishonourable mention for 2025’s Nuremberg; he suggests watching the original Judgment of Nuremberg instead as he questions the accuracy of this version. More picks to come as summer rolls on!