Reporting by Brandy Schaefer

It’s been nearly a decade-and-a-half since last we saw Terry Kiser waving limply at passers-by while a rope pully waved his hand up and down. If you’re like the rest of us “Weekend at Bernie” fans, you long for the days of slapstick jokes with the dearly departed; well, get ready film fans, because your new Bernie is … Taryn Manning?

“That was interesting when I first read the script,” the “8 Mile” actress told us this week. “I was like ‘Well, what do they want me to do? Because, right away, she dies!”

Unfortunately, Manning isn’t talking about a “Weekend at Bernie’s 3.” But the good news is that she’s instead discussing “Weirdsville”, her cool new film that opens this week and has her playing a dead body for most of the movie in a role that’s just…well, weird.

“People are gonna see a really different side of these guys,” said Manning, who stars in the flick alongside Wes Bentley and Scott Speedman. “Wes is actually very, very smart…in ‘American Beauty’ he played introverted and weird and strange. But in ‘Weirdsville,’ his comedic timing is really on display.”

When I saw “Weirdsville” at Slamdance last January, the quirky tale of druggies, midgets and Satanists reminded me of such bullet-ridden underground classics as “Love & a .45.” But thanks to Manning, it’s also reminiscent of some Jonathan Silverman-Andrew McCarthy comedy classics.

“It was funny to have Wes and Scott acting around me, talking over my dead body,” Manning remembers of lying “dead” on the floor after her druggie character had overdosed. “Like, I really had to hold my breath a lot on the close-ups, which is difficult.”

To offer hope for Manning’s fans, however, let’s just say when Wes and Scott attempt to bury their dead friend, they’re in for a “Weird” surprise. “Then something happens,” she smiled. “And another thing happens — and she’s back!”

Manning probably didn’t consult with Kiser for advice on the role, but if there happens to be a “Weekend at Bernie’s III,” it might just be about a Bernadette — because Taryn Manning can play dead with the best of them.

“Here’s my audition tape to prove it!” Manning implored “Bernie” fans, with a laugh. “Look, I can do it — I can hold my breath!”