‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ spoiler-free review

Ring the church bells, a mystery is brewing!

Rian Johnson, the famous writer/director of At loggerheads and its glowing COVID-lockdown sequel The glass onionis back with fresh blood Wake up dead man. Fans of Daniel Craig’s sweet-as-bourbon Southern detective Benoit Blanc have reason to rejoice, because this third installment is tenaciously twisty, deliciously deranged, and a damn good time.

As fans of this franchise will no doubt want the chance to solve the case without spoilers, the following review will be spoiler-free, revealing little that can’t be gleaned from the film’s trailer.

But even before the plot details are shared below, trust me on this: see Wake up dead man to the cinema if you are able.

Yes, yes, it’s coming to Netflix this fall. But watching this film in a movie theater, filled with fans eager to see what dark secrets and malicious motives Blanc will uncover, is an experience to cherish. I can confirm this after witnessing the film at its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the audience laughed, gasped and applauded like the sacred community of film buffs that we are.

Wake up dead man sneaky shot from John Dickson Carr.

Johnson’s first At loggerheads The film played delightfully into Agatha Christie stories that featured a group of eccentric suspects trapped with the genius detective determined to uncover the murderer in their midst. His second, The glass onionleaned more into modern greed, moving away from a crime novelist’s antique-filled family home and toward glossy, technological opulence. Wake up dead man avoids the pitfalls of both worlds with a story set in a stone church, marked by greed and desecration.

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In the picturesque New York town of Chimney Rock is Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. In this church, a young idealistic priest named Jud Duplenticy (ChallengersJosh O’Connor) finds himself in the crosshairs of Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin), a fire-and-brimstone preacher who is said to be “just a few beads short of a rosary.” And yet, his flock is devoted… or seems to be, until he is assassinated in the middle of mass.

As the trailer reveals, Wicks’ death occurs in a “sealed concrete box” right next to the altar, meaning this murder is a locked mystery. Thus, Johnson is not only alluding to John Dickson Carr’s seminal 1935 detective novel about locked rooms. The hollow manbut full of features, the suspects read the book, show its cover to the camera and refer to it several times.

With such a bizarre case, the local police welcome famous detective Benoit Blanc (Craig), who is determined to investigate the young rival priest and his parishioners, played by Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church. Of course, true to the formula, White will need an assistant who is probably too close to the file. And here he chooses Father Duplenticy.

Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor make a wonderful comedy duo.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

Benoit and Jud are a fun study in contrasts. Draped in custom suits with dandy flourishes – courtesy of Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Eagan – Benoit is an elegant, unflappable figure of intelligence, sophistication and well-deserved swagger. For him, the murder is terrible, certainly, but also fascinating, presenting a riddle that he is dizzying to solve.

Jud, on the other hand, is a furiously disheveled clown, without Benoit’s composure or calm. He wears the humble black uniform and unflattering matching shoes of a priest, his white collar being the brightest thing about him. As for his character, Jud’s impulses lead him to violent outbursts and comically uncool proclamations, as if he and “Benoit Freakin’ Blanc” will find the killer.

Once again, Craig seems to effortlessly embody the charismatic investigator, bringing a cheeky joy to the macabre discoveries (like a corpse’s ability to bounce back). O’Connor, however, is a thrilling surprise, proving brilliant as the bumbling but earnest sidekick. He’s frantic and funny, whether he’s embarrassing himself in front of his giggling parishioners or having falls. As heartbreaking as O’Connor can be in dramas, this outing makes me wish he’d look into more comedies. He has a wonderful talent for joking and a disarming charm that is absolutely enchanting.

Rian Johnson creates the atmosphere by drawing on the influences of Edgar Allan Poe… and the Bible.

Credit: John Wilson/Netflix

Wake up dead man evokes the gothic horror of the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Like the eponym House of Usherthe stone church at the center of the film is a place of rot, secrets and violence. As one impossible crime leads to another, Johnson teases his audience that there might be a touch of the supernatural in the world of Benoit’s rigorous logic. How else can we explain that a body ends up where it shouldn’t?

Between the detective and the priest, questions of faith in God, in man and in miracles become crucial to the central mystery but also to its emotional resolution. However, the film refuses to become preachy. As he has in his previous films, Johnson peppers bitter elements of American culture, like conspiracy theories, the opportunistic politics of online influencers, and the perversion of religious doctrine for capitalist ends.

It would take more than one watch to properly fathom everything Johnson has to say on these topics through their representation here. But on the surface, these topics show not only what this team of sinners are looking for in the Church, but also how faith alone does not make one righteous. As Wake up dead man Building on its curious title with a sensational third act, audiences will surely be pulled to the edge of their seats, wondering not only how this mystery will be solved, but also what its answer will mean for the ever-questioning Benoit Blanc.

Along the way, a crackling cast brings exuberance, whether anger, shock, relief or deep, snarling resentment. Close and Brolin stand out, portraying characters that are larger than life, but also – in this deeply misguided Catholic’s estimation – quite familiar to those who have spent enough time near a church altar or its whispering rectory.

Ultimately, like the Benoit Blanc mysteries that preceded it, Wake up dead man is precisely written, passionately animated, and thoughtfully constructed, with plenty of allusions in its costumes, characters, romance, lore, and more. It’s an exciting film that’s a joy to watch with an audience equally excited to come together to experience something strange and divine. And it’s a film I’m already wanting to watch again, eager to catch any clues or details I might have missed the first time around. It’s not just a question of mystery, or even of a message. Rather, it’s that Johnson makes these films with such passion for visual storytelling that everything from the background props to the staging to the cinematography and costumes feels ardently intentional. This is cinema, good for the masses and for ardent reflection — and what a wonderful miracle of modern times it can be!

Wake Up Dead Man: A knife-edge mystery debuts on Netflix on December 12.

UPDATE: December 10, 2025, 3:13 p.m. This review was first published on September 9, 2025, during the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It has been updated for the release of the film on Netflix.