The Body Between Us

In the best of circumstances, a dead body is an awful inconvenience; in the worst, it can mean life in prison or a trip to the electric chair. As a dramatic medium, cinema has tended to deal more with the latter, with results that vary from harrowing to hilarious—as can be seen in this series, dedicated to the fine art of corpse management. Paraded around (Weekend at Bernie’s), submerged in bathtubs (Les Diaboliques), refusing to stay put (The Trouble with Harry), or just left lying at a river’s edge (River’s Edge, of course), the films in The Body Between Us evince the extraordinary number of things that the dearly departed can still do—or have done to them—whether they’re being covered up or “hidden” in plain sight.