Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) [Movie Review] — A Sermon of Suspicion and Hope

Rian Johnson’s latest entry in the Benoit Blanc saga, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, steers the franchise away from the whimsy of Glass Onion and back toward a more austere, classical puzzle — but one with a modern conscience. It’s a mystery that feels intentionally chilly and storm-tossed on the surface, yet quietly bright at its moral core: a film that wants you to solve a whodunit and, just as importantly, to consider why any of it matters.

Synopsis

A parish, a pulpit, and an impossible death

When a tragic — and apparently impossible — death rattles the halls of a struggling New York parish, an unlikely investigation begins. Josh O’Connor plays Reverend Jud Dupenticy, a young priest reassigned after a violent lapse, who finds himself pulled between the iron rule of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) and a congregation of complicated believers. Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc arrives later, and what unfolds is less about the mechanics of murder than the tangled motives and private wounds of a tightly knit group: a devoted servant (Glenn Close), a groundskeeper with demons (Thomas Haden Church), a resentful caretaker, a scheming half-brother, and a cast of eccentrics whose loyalties and resentments fuel both suspicion and sympathy.

Performances

A breakout lead and a seasoned ensemble in fine, humane form

O’Connor anchors the film with a layered turn that is at once vulnerable and resolute; he carries much of the movie’s emotional freight before Craig’s Blanc enters the frame. Daniel Craig, reliably magnetic as the detective, provides the wry logic the story needs, but it’s O’Connor’s conflicted, remorseful priest who lingers. Josh Brolin chews scenery in the best possible way as the bombastic monsignor, while Glenn Close adds dignified weight. Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Andrew Scott and a roster of supporting players bring distinctive textures that make every suspect feel lived-in rather than simply clue-bearing.

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Direction & Craft

Classic technique meets streaming-era polish

Johnson’s script is razor-sharp, his most controlled and thoughtful in the franchise. He teams again with cinematographer Steven Yedlin to create a film that looks cinematic — cool, churchlight pierced by sudden sunlight — and Bob Ducsay’s editing sustains the rhythm as motives unravel and alliances shift. The picture reads beautifully on a small screen, but it rewards theatergoing eyes; production and design elevate what could have been serviceable streaming fare into something more tactile.

Themes & Analysis

Why-not just who — faith, anger, and the civic story we’re telling ourselves

What distinguishes Wake Up Dead Man from many modern mysteries is its appetite for ideas. Inspired by locked-room traditions, Johnson uses the format to ask bigger questions: faith versus reason, anger versus atonement, and the social fractures that mimic the fault lines inside the parish. The film frames a gentle argument for understanding across factions rather than preaching to the choir, and in doing so it becomes unexpectedly hopeful without collapsing into sentimentality. The friendship that grows — essentially a buddy dynamic between the man of faith and the man of logic — supplies much of the film’s warmth.

Weaknesses

Ambition occasionally treads into convolution

If there’s a flaw, it’s that the central case sometimes feels over-engineered — a solution that stretches plausibility more than necessary. As with Johnson’s earlier mysteries, the emotional stakes outshine the puzzle mechanics; viewers who prize solvable clues above all else may find the twist a beat too baroque.

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Verdict

A sharp, humane mystery that rewards patience

Wake Up Dead Man is an ambitious, elegantly made addition to the Knives Out universe: thoughtful, well-acted, and strangely uplifting. It’s not perfect — the plot’s complexity can be a strain — but its compassion and craft make it a satisfying experience.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) — If you love mysteries that ask “why” as loudly as “who,” this one is well worth your time.