Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, 2025.
Directed by Rian Johnson.
Starring Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
SYNOPSIS
Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.
Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig returned to TIFF for Benoit Blanc’s latest investigation Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Featuring an ensemble led by Craig and Josh O’Connor, the latest installment of the Knives Out series doesn’t hit quite as strongly as the previous two films, but the gothic influence and thematic story gives it its own identity. With Johnson’s blend of humour and story, it is a worthy entry to Blanc’s intriguing cases.
Wake Up Dead Man follows a young priest in a small town who must contend with a vitriolic priest and his flock of loyal followers. When a seemingly impossible murder happens on the church grounds, Benoit Blanc is called in to help investigate leading to all kinds of twists and turns in the secrets the parish keeps.
It is an interesting setting for Blanc as he follows the logic and rational of an investigation and behaviour of people, but is met here with several others whose beliefs and faith in a higher power defies that logic. Despite that, the chemistry between Blanc and O’Connor’s Father Judd provides a great back and forth in their interactions as they attempt to unravel the strange murder. Neither of the characters necessarily spar with each other or are treated as an opposite buddy cop team like Rush Hour or Lethal Weapon, but their teamwork does convey new aspects of Blanc’s character and philosophical outlook against Judd’s well-intentioned positivity and religious faith.
In that aspect Johnson does well examining the themes of faith especially in this modern age where ‘traditional’ religious institutions have become more inclusive and understanding of various differences than they once were. This is the crux between O’Connor’s Judd and Josh Brolin’s firebrand preacher who wants to fight against modernity. The religious overtones are utilized more to look at how Judd and Blanc each confront their beliefs and push Judd’s development forward, a fact which Johnson ties to current problems society faces with increasingly cynical and volatile opinions becoming more mainstream.
The ensemble cast provide great material to either laugh at or relate to with Glenn Close’s devout churchgoer, Kerry Washington’s bitter mom or Jeremy Renner’s depressed divorcee. Close is an obvious standout and has terrific comedic timing while Brolin embodies the hypocrisy of not only selfish people but of institutions. Renner similarly provides laughs while Daryl McCormack plays a pretty sleazy character with Washington serving at times as the audience’s surrogate in her exasperation of everything around her.
The film’s pacing is nice and the usage of gothic themes makes Wake Up Dead Man stand out from Knives Out and Glass Onion. Johnson plays around with lighting much more than he did in the previous films, utilizing angelic silhouettes in several instances, and though there are still plenty of laughs to be had the tone is much more serious, sombre and thought-provoking. However, Johnson relies too much on exposition this time around, telling the audience things rather than showing them and giving overly long explanations, though his wordplay is still effective in generating comedic moments.
Johnson succeeds in giving Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery its own specific voice and central themes while Craig, O’Connor and the ensemble cast deliver excellent performances. The character development Judd goes through is relatable even if you’re not religious, being more of a broad belief in the goodness of others and our responsibility to help foster a better environment. While perhaps not the strongest of the three Knives Out films, it is still incredibly captivating and might be Johnson’s most personal film in the series yet.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
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