Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Review
Jud Duplenticy has recently joined the Catholic Church as a priest. While he’s young and full of enthusiasm, he’s also running from his violent past. Realizing the error of his ways, he has fully embraced Jesus’s teachings and is eager to evangelize.
Recognizing this, Bishop Langstrom sends Father Duplenticy to the town of Chimney Rock. There, Monsieur Jefferson Wicks has been leading a small and deteriorating congregation that he hopes Duplenticy can revitalize. Unfortunately, Monsieur Wicks sees Duplenticy as a threat.
Father Duplenticy quickly realizes that he’s in a battle for the souls of the congregation with Monsieur Wicks. Wicks has the church’s faithful members wrapped around his little finger for various reasons.
Dr. Nat Sharp is looking for help reconciling with his wife. Author Lee Ross is looking for inspiration for his next book. Simone Vivane is looking for healing from a mysterious neurological disease. And Cy Draven is desperate to find a way to jumpstart his political career. Duplenticy believes they are all being led astray and manipulated by Wicks.
When one member of the congregation is murdered, all of the dirty laundry from the church comes to light. And more importantly, Father Duplenticy becomes the number one suspect in the murder. As he finds his faith tested, Duplenticy gets help clearing his name from an unexpected source – Detective Benoit Blanc.
Wake Up, Dead Man delivers everything you’ve come to expect from a Knives Out Mystery. There is a great cast having fun, a clever mystery full of unexpected twists and turns, and a fun performance by Daniel Craig having the time of his life as Benoit Blanc. It’s a classic whodunit that is very much in the spirit of the first two films. But this one adds an unexpected layer.
Wake Up Dead Man has a profound commentary on faith and the church that I didn’t realize would be featured in a light murder mystery. Father Duplenticy expresses moving testimony about his faith, the teachings of Jesus, and what the church should be. There was a surprising scene in which Duplenticy and Blanc are on the phone with a woman who is incessantly bantering, and they’re trying to get information from her quickly so they can race to catch the murderer.
Out of nowhere, the woman says, “Father, I need you to pray for me.” Duplenticy stops dead in his tracks and then gently listens to her talk about her ailing mother. Even Blanc stops the chase for the murderer as Duplenticy regains his focus and helps the woman. It’s a touching, emotional moment you don’t expect in a Hollywood film, and it speaks volumes about the characters.
While the film offers religious commentary, both sides of the aisle get their fair say. Benoit Blanc is an atheist and, as hinted in Glass Onion, gay, and he lets it be quite known what he thinks of the Bible, the church, and God. It’s very clear that Blanc and Duplenticy are on opposite ends of the religious spectrum.
However, from the moment they meet, they show respect for each other and engage in open discussion about their beliefs. Along the way, they learn something from each other, and by the end of the story, they’re both better for it. It ends up being an excellent commentary on how people who disagree should engage each other and a great lesson for today’s society.
Josh O’Connor leads the cast as Fr. Jud Duplenticy. While this British actor has a very long list of films to his credit, this is the first time he’s been on my radar. O’Connor makes the character complex, funny, and likable. He more than holds his own with the more recognizable names in the cast, and he has great moments with all of them. He is also well paired with Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc. Craig still looks like he’s having fun as the detective with the Southern charm.
Among the rest of the cast, Josh Brolin is great as Mons. Jefferson Wicks. He makes it easy to dislike his character. Glenn Close is excellent as Martha Delacroix, the church’s faithful elder who keeps everything running smoothly. It’s great to see her in such a prominent role again.
Jeremy Renner as Dr. Nat Sharp is fun to see as the jilted ex-husband. Andrew Scott also stands out as the burned-out sci-fi writer Lee Ross. He provides much of the comic relief when Craig and O’Connor are off-screen.
I can’t say much more without spoiling the film. I will say it has a lot of the twists and turns you come to expect from this series. It’s also standalone and is very accessible to anyone who hasn’t seen the previous Benoit Blanc mysteries.
As even-handed as Wake Up Dead Man is towards religion, it is less so with politics. The story mocks conservatives mercilessly without making any equal jokes aimed at liberals. Mons. Jefferson Wicks uses his pulpit to spew hate and prop up his own ego.
And Daryl McCormack as Cy Draven constantly uses his online platform to further his own career as a Republican rising star. I would have respected writer-director Rian Johnson more if he had made a few jokes at the Left’s expense, but he did not.
Wake Up Dead Man drags a bit more than it probably should. A large portion of the film is spent simply setting up the murder, and it’s a very long time before Blanc even shows up on the scene. Even when he does appear, some of those scenes drag along as well. And as much as I liked the religious commentary, some of it could have been dialed back and been just as effective.
Finally, despite the entire cast being strong, some actors felt underutilized compared to others. I probably shouldn’t list them as it might indicate spoilers, so I’ll leave things at that. While I think Knives Out and Glass Onion were more memorable films, Wake Up Dead Man is still a solid entry in the series and should satisfy fans of whodunits and Benoit Blanc.
WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY REVIEW RATING: 7 OUT OF 10
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will open in select theaters on November 26, 2025, and then will be available to stream on Netflix on December 12. The film is rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, strong language, some crude sexual material, and smoking.
