Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 TIFF coverage. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery opens in theaters on November 26 and arrives on Netflix on December 12.
Let’s eschew the type of slow-burning, big reveal that Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc excels at in the Knives Out series, and cut to the chase: Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is another satisfying, impossible-to-predict yarn featuring all the series’ hallmarks. There’s a wildly diverse ensemble, including a few stellar character actors and some rising stars. There’s a seemingly unsolvable crime carrying a whiff of Agatha Christie (and others, including Edgar Allan Poe). And there’s a reliable whodunit trope: Knives Out had a family of backstabbers with axes to grind, while Glass Onion offered a vacation setting and “friends” with revenge in mind; Wake Up Dead Man presents a “locked-door mystery” in a small town.
So far, so Knives Out. Wake Up Dead Man is, however, the series’ weakest entry––and it’s not even close. It’s easy to forget how fresh Knives Out felt in 2019, and it was nearly equaled by the pandemic-set Onion (which lost the plot during its final stretch). As for Wake Up being the lesser of the three, blame the church––church setting, that is. Johnson enjoys riffing on the ever-popular parish mystery genre, but following a stately mansion and a billionaire’s pleasure-filled island, a church is simply not as involving a locale.
The case at the heart of this film unfolds at a calcified Catholic parish in upstate New York. Its new assistant pastor is an ex-boxer with a past, played with humor and wounded grace by Josh O’Connor. His Jud Duplenticy longs to make a difference. But that won’t be easy when the parish is overseen by fire-breathing Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin, channeling the look of Jeff Bridges). Wicks’ domain is a Gothic cathedral that draws a small collection of devotees. There’s an alcoholic doctor (Jeremy Renner), a past-his-prime author (Andrew Scott), a cellist in need of a miracle (Cailee Spaeny), and a lawyer who was forced to raise a wannabe politico (Kerry Washington and Daryl McCormack, respectively). Creeping in the shadows is the church’s do-it-all staffer (Glenn Close). All are in thrall to Wicks and none too happy with the arrival of Jud.
Note that I’ve not yet mentioned Benoit Blanc. That’s a problem: it takes far too long for the scenery-chewing detective to be introduced. One of this series’ pleasures is its interplay between Blanc and a helper––LaKeith Stanfield in Knives Out, Janelle Monáe in Glass Onion. This time, Blanc works with the town police chief, who Mila Kunis plays nicely while saddled with a one-note role. She deserves more; as does Spaeny, the most wasted member of this cast. Brolin, Close, and O’Connor have more to work with and make the most of their opportunity. As for Craig: well, it’s always a delight to see the actor as Benoit Blanc. But outside one memorable moment at the pulpit (and a genuinely classic bit involving Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera) Craig is rather subdued this time around.
It’s wise to watch Wake Up Dead Man with as little background as possible. To that end, I’ll refrain from identifying which cast member gets snuffed out on Good Friday. Audiences are once again unlikely to guess how the proceedings will unfold, and––flaws notwithstanding––should be mostly satisfied.
While Wake Up Dead Man fails to reach the highs of Knives Out and Glass Onion, it nevertheless solidifies Johnson’s reliability to deliver thoughtful thrills. Indeed, the most impressive achievement of the director’s career is not Brick or The Last Jedi, though fashioning a high school whodunnit and the most divisive (and bold) Star Wars film both qualify as admirable. It’s clear his greatest success is the Benoit Blanc series, which resurrects a kind of mystery franchise that long felt dormant. It’s no spoiler to say that, with Wake Up Dead Man‘s conclusion, there’s little reason to believe we’ve seen the last of Blanc. Johnson certainly has more stories to tell, and they’ll surely entertain the masses at home on a Saturday evening. Next time, let’s hope for a more compelling setting and––please––a more dynamic detective.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery premiered at TIFF 2025 and opens in theaters on November 26 and arrives on Netflix on December 12.