Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (dir. Rian Johnson)

by Jack Martin | Dec 12, 2025

Certificate: 12A

Running Time: 144 mins

UK Distributor: Netflix

UK Release Date: 12 December 2025

WHO’S IN WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY?

Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey Wright, Annie Hamilton, James Faulkner, Bridget Everett, Noah Segan

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Rian Johnson (director, writer, producer), Ram Bergman (producer), Nathan Johnson (composer), Steve Yedlin (cinematographer), Bob Ducsay (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Benoit Blanc (Craig) investigates the unusual death of a controversial priest (Brolin)…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY?

In each one of Rian Johnson’s series of murder-mystery films featuring Daniel Craig’s southern-fried detective Benoit Blanc, the filmmaker has addressed modern socio-economic issues with sharp wit and intricately layered plotting, all through the eyes of a marginalised individual who has felt the full brunt of such things. In the original Knives Out, the topic of generational wealth and entitlement was told via Ana de Armas’s migrant nurse working for a family that treated her and others with passive-aggressive contempt. Then, in Glass Onion, Janelle Monáe helped expose the hollowness and even the idiocy of powerful would-be disruptors who were too unaware of their own dickishness.

Now, with Wake Up Dead Man, Johnson aims bigger than ever with not just a fierce dissection of the perversion and hypocrisy within modern-day religion, but also a fresh new audience avatar that has the ability to see things from both sides of the aisle and thus can come to a more complex and rational judgement than previous counterparts. Luckily, Johnson keeps a level head upon himself as he slowly unfolds yet another compelling mystery that, while perhaps not quite reaching the same heights as past films, is more than entertaining enough to keep you engrossed.

Long before Craig’s Blanc enters the picture, we see how Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), a former boxer who turned to Christianity following a deadly match, becomes unnerved by the unhinged practises of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) upon arriving at his church. Jud witnesses the priest displaying a venomous cult of personality among his fleeting flock of supporters, including devout believer Martha (Glenn Close), struggling sci-fi novelist Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), wheelchair-bound cellist Simone (Cailee Spaeny), local lawyer Vera (Kerry Washington) and her aspiring right-wing politician half-brother Cy (Daryl McCormack), and town doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner) whose wife has suddenly deserted him. All, including Jud, are present at a Good Friday sermon where a seemingly impossible crime is committed: Wicks, in a sealed room with no way in or out other than the door through which he entered, is fatally stabbed in the back, for which Jud – the only one to display actual antagonism toward the now-dead priest – is promptly blamed for by the congregation, and even local police chief Geraldine (Mila Kunis).

When Blanc finally makes his grand entrance – with Craig now sporting a rather dapper long-haired look that hopefully is how his character presents from here on – you’ll almost have forgotten that this is a Knives Out film, for Johnson has done such a grand job of establishing these new characters and the complex narrative surrounding them that, in a way, you almost wish the detective didn’t turn up at all. Of course, Blanc himself remains a delightful character, with Craig once again having plenty of fun immersing himself deeply into the detective’s magnetic flamboyance, but Wake Up Dead Man thrives most on its colourful new set of characters who all provide moments of humour (most of it at their expense) as well as humanity, which the ensemble cast conveys while still exposing the flaws buried deep within them. Regardless of screen time or backstory, which some characters have more of than others, they are given plenty of room by Johnson to feel fleshed out and interesting enough to apply reasonable doubt in their overall guilt or innocence in the crime.

Most of all, they serve as stark personifications of the lengths to which religion can have a hold on people, though in this case, and to an arguably more dangerous degree than the actual murder, these characters have such a warped idea of what Christianity is that it barely even aligns with Jesus’ actual teachings. Brolin’s Wicks is a blatant tyrant whose fire-and-brimstone sermons are designed to shame and offend newcomers as much as they embolden and satisfy his loyal flock, many of whom share ignorant beliefs of their own that their version of this faith provides some kind of twisted comfort. Even the more level-headed outsider Jud, played with fierce down-to-earth charm by O’Connor, is uncertain about his own commitment to the faith since he got into it more or less for his own benefit, as a means to spiritually atone for his past mistakes instead of actually consoling members of his congregation. Each character’s faith, or lack thereof in Blanc’s case, plays a complicit part in the central mystery, their enablement of Wick’s bullying extremism ultimately leading to dire consequences for all within a much darker and more gothic tone than Blanc’s previous outings.

Occasionally, the film stumbles as it tries to cram in one too many twists and turns, some of which don’t quite add up from a logical standpoint. The ultimate reveal of the culprit – or maybe even culprits – is fairly easy to guess, a problem that has been consistent with all these Knives Out films which, for all their mystery and intrigue, lead to fairly obvious outcomes. But as Johnson proves over and over with his Benoit Blanc mysteries, the real thrill is in the journey toward that conclusion, and the filmmaker clearly enjoys playing around with the murder-mystery template so much that his enjoyment rubs off on the film itself, which makes it all the more fun to watch play out in the same way a classic Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle book does. And with Wake Up Dead Man, Johnson’s ambitious gamble once again pays off in ways that will have you ravenous for the next case in Blanc’s portfolio.

SO, TO SUM UP…

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is another entertaining whodunnit from filmmaker Rian Johnson that sees Daniel Craig’s ever delightful Benoit Blanc investigate a colourful new set of characters amidst a gothic religious backdrop, and while it might not be as sharp as previous entries it is fun and layered enough to keep you guessing.