Wake Up Dead Man Review: Gothic Knives Out Threequel is Droll but Uneven Fun—and Josh O’Connor Steals the Show
London Film Festival
Daniel Craig’s suave, Southern detective returns to investigate a murder in a church, with Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, and Andrew Scott among the suspects
Words by Alex Secilmis 9 October 2025
© Netflix
After a sun-soaked Greece-set sequel, writer-director Rian Johnson has returned his Knives Out franchise to the American East Coast for another spirited, socially conscious whodunnit. Where the original and Glass Onion skewered an entitled, wealthy white family and a Musk-style tech billionaire, respectively, Wake Up Dead Man takes aim at a Catholic parish in a quiet upstate New York town, where a zealous, hate-spewing priest has accrued a devoted following. With a sleepy autumnal setting, a cutting satirical edge, and an enticing gothic slant, Johnson’s third Benoit Blanc mystery promises a superlative time at the movies—and, for the first half at least, it delivers.
Blending the locked-room mystery and the Edgar Allan Poe detective story, Wake Up Dead Man gives Daniel Craig’s masterful detective a so-called “impossible crime”. Unlike Glass Onion, which kept its murder victim a secret in its marketing, we know that Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin) has drawn the short straw. The question, aside from the obvious one that gives this genre its name, is how? Inexplicably, Wicks is killed in a shut closet in front of his congregation.
© Netflix
That very same crowd contains our suspects, whom Johnson economically introduces with sardonic flair. There’s Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), a devout believer who’s given her life to the church; Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), the town doctor left by his wife and kids; Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), a local attorney burdened with furthering her father’s legacy; Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a sci-fi writer on a downslide who’s out to escape the “liberal hive mind”; Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), a world-class cellist afflicted by a career-ending chronic pain condition; Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), a failed politician who turns Monsignor Wicks into a YouTube sensation; and Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church), the groundskeeper enamoured with Martha. That said, all fingers point to Father Jud (Josh O’Connor), who was outspokenly against Wick’s cruel, cult-like ways.
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In Benoit Blanc, Rian Johnson has given us a detective for the ages: a gay Poirot with impeccable style and a delightfully extravagant Southern drawl. Craig is compelling as ever, but curiously, he takes a back seat in this third entry—a move that mostly works because Josh O’Connor makes for a superb protagonist. Playing a priest with a tortured heart of gold, O’Connor pulls off a tightrope act balancing comedic timing and heartfelt pathos. It’s a role that again leaves little doubt that he is one of the best actors of his generation. By centring on Father Jud’s relationship with faith and organised religion, Johnson also makes this the most introspective Knives Out film yet. He’s condemning leaders who co-opt faith to build a platform (Brolin’s buffoonish but menacing Monsignor recalls a certain head of state), not religion itself. Consequently, there’s a wonderful—but ultimately under-explored—tension between Blanc as a “proud heretic” and Father Jud as a priest in crisis.
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Initially, Wake Up Dead Man is an alluring blend of breezy and brooding that perfectly sets up its impossible mystery. But after an air-tight first hour, the mystery shifts from gripping to convoluted—more Glass Onion than the razor-sharp Knives Out. Johnson overdoes the standard twisty conclusion and criminally underutilises an excellent supporting cast. Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, and Andrew Scott—particularly interesting as an insufferable woke-hating author— suffer the most in this regard.
Despite a disappointing mystery, Wake Up Dead Man is enough witty, atmospheric fun to make up for its faults. And more importantly, it proves that we’re nowhere near tired of Benoit Blanc.