Written by Cameron Geiser

Warning: This review is for Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which is a film presented at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. There may be slight spoilers present. Reader discretion is advised.

Image courtesy of the Toronto International film Festival.

Rian Johnson has now formed his very own trilogy based around the Detective prowess of one Benoit Blanc as portrayed by Daniel Craig. And what a fine way to round out his trilogy. It's been some time since I have seen the first Knives Out, but Wake Up Dead Man feels like it has the least of Craig's Blanc, or perhaps it simply goes the longest without him getting directly involved- but once he arrives this mystery seems to challenge him the most of the three whodunnits. This speaks to the strength of characters involved in the mystery as every single one of them were quirky, fashionably unique, and unflinchingly authentic.

We meet Reverend Jud (Josh O'Connor) in a moment of weakness. He's having a disagreement with a particularly prickly deacon when a line is crossed and he reacts on instinct by knocking the mouthy subordinate out. It's quickly established that he's still trying to get over his past as a Boxer and follow his faith, but he's still working through things despite his natural skill as a priest. Thus his superior, played by Jeffrey Wright, sees that while Rev. Jud needs to be reprimanded, he could be of use in a particularly dreary dwindling parish out in the countryside.

In this quiet woodsy town the catholic church's only presence lies within Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude through the lone priest who rules with an iron fist, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Monsignor Wicks is assisted by Martha (Glen Close), the clerk, organ player, filing system, librarian, and general second in command until Rev. Jud arrives. Whose presence alone challenges the system of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, the ways in which Wicks' practices religion, and the social clique of a flock whose members all hide their own vicious secrets. In fact all the suspects of these films are generally speaking, awful people to some degree- but here the claws have been sharpened to a visceral degree. Obviously once someone dies mysteriously, our lead Detective waltzes into the picture to follow the facts and question the many curious suspects as is his prerogative.

Once several layers are peeled back you begin to see how every single one of these parishioners could be capable of committing the murder at the heart of this Knives Out entry. As with the past two entries in this series the cast pulls a serious amount of big name contenders like the aforementioned Josh Brolin and Glen Close, but they are joined by players from a range of notoriety like Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Thomas Haden Church, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack, and Mila Kunis. Everyone brought something fresh to the table and while some didn’t get quite as much to do as others, everyone ate up their time onscreen. Oh and as mentioned before once he does arrive, Benoit Blanc is a major player but not the de facto lead as was the case with Glass Onion. No that role rests with Rev. Jud played with a tired humility and honest exhaustion by Josh O’Connor. It’s his story, with all the mysterious elements circling around him, like the expendable assistant of an expert knife thrower.

What makes these films a fascinating social experiment is that each one exquisitely mirrors the mood and atmosphere of elements of American life and culture at the time of each film's release. While the first film's characters felt like they could have been reflections of many a Thanksgiving tables in 2019, and Glass Onion showcased the world stopping oddity that Covid brought alongside brilliant satire of figures like Elon Musk, Wake Up Dead Man puts faith, men of power, and hate spewing rhetoric used by charlatans, opportunists, and self absorbed power grabs at the forefront of Rian Johnson's assaults. This third outing also dials back the scale from the vacation vibes of Glass Onion and turns things darker than before, but with a more refined hand when it comes to the filmmaking side of things. There are some elegantly entertaining twists this time around and while the whole supporting cast was outstanding the quartet of Josh O'Connor, Daniel Craig, Glen Close, and Josh Brolin all stood out with their different ideologies and approaches to problem solving. Not to mention that the film itself was, surprisingly, seriously interested in having a discussion about faith and religion itself when concerned with what that means to everyone. Wake Up Dead Man is another superb Knives Out film, and one that should quell any concerns of quality going forward.

Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.