Sound the church bells, a mystery is afoot!
Rian Johnson, the acclaimed writer/director of Knives Out and its splashy COVID-lockdown-set sequel The Glass Onion, is back with fresh blood in Wake Up Dead Man. Fans of Daniel Craig's smooth-as-bourbon Southern detective Benoit Blanc have reason to rejoice, as this third installment is tenaciously twisty, deliciously deranged, and a hell of a good time.
As fans of this franchise will undoubtedly want the chance to crack the case without spoilers, the following review will be spoiler-free, revealing little that can't be gleaned from the film's teaser trailer.
But before even plot details are shared below, trust me on this: See Wake Up Dead Man in theaters if you're able.
Yes, yes, it's coming to Netflix this fall. But watching this movie in a theater, filled with fans eager to see what dark secrets and malicious motivations Blanc will unearth, is an experience to treasure. I can confirm this, having witnessed the film at its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the audience laughed, gasped, and cheered like the sacred community of cinephiles we are.
Wake Up Dead Man slyly pulls from John Dickson Carr.
Johnson's first Knives Out film played deliciously into the Agatha Christie stories that featured a clutch of eccentric suspects trapped together with the genius detective determined to out the murderer in their midst. His second, The Glass Onion, leaned more into modern greed, pulling away from the antique-filled family home of a mystery novelist and toward glossy, tech-bro opulence. Wake Up Dead Man shuns the trappings of both these worlds with a tale set in a stone church, scarred by greed and desecration.
In the quaint New York town of Chimney Rock sits Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. In this church, an idealistic young priest named Jud Duplenticy (Challengers' Josh O'Connor) finds himself in the crosshairs of Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin), a fire-and-brimstone preacher who is said to be "a few beads shy of a rosary." And yet, his flock is devoted… or seems to be, until he's murdered in the middle of mass.
As revealed in the teaser trailer, Wicks' death occurs in a "sealed concrete box" just off the altar, meaning this murder is a locked-room mystery. Thus, Johnson not only alludes to John Dickson Carr's 1935 seminal locked-room mystery novel The Hollow Man, but full on features the suspects reading the book, flashing its cover to the camera, and referencing it repeatedly.
With such a bizarre case, the local police welcome in renowned gentleman detective Benoit Blanc (Craig), who is earnest to investigate the young rival priest and his parishioners, played by Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church. Of course, true to formula, Blanc will need an assistant who's arguably too close to the case. And here, he chooses Father Duplenticy.
Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor make a marvelous comedic duo.
Benoit and Jud are an amusing study in contrasts. Draped in custom suits with dandy flourishes — courtesy of Oscar–winning costume designer Jenny Eagan — Benoit is an elegant, unruffled figure of intelligence, sophistication, and well-earned swagger. For him, murder is terrible, sure, but also fascinating, presenting a puzzle he is smoothly giddy to solve.
Jud, on the other hand, is an furiously ruffled clown, with none of Benoit's cool or calm. He wears the humble black uniform and unflattering matching shoes of a priest, his white collar the shiniest bit about him. As to his character, Jud's impulses lead him to violent outbursts and comically uncool proclamations, like that he and "Benoit Freakin' Blanc" will find the killer.
Once more, Craig seems effortless in embodying the charismatic investigator, bringing a cheeky joy to macabre discoveries (like how bouncy a corpse can be). O'Connor, however, is a thrilling surprise, proving brilliant as the goofy but earnest sidekick. He is frenzied and funny, whether embarrassing himself in front of his sneering parishioners or pulling off pratfalls. As heartbreaking as O'Connor can be in dramas, this outing has me yearning for him to lean into more comedies. He's got a terrific skill for banter and a disarming charm that's absolutely enchanting.
Rian Johnson brews mood by pulling in influences from Edgar Allan Poe… and the Bible.
Wake Up Dead Man evokes the Gothic horror of Edgar Allen Poe's works. Like the eponymous House of Usher, the stone church at the film's center is a place of rot, secrets, and violence. As one impossible crime leads to another, Johnson teases his audience that there could be a touch of the supernatural in Benoit's world of rigorous rationale. How else to explain as a body ends up where it ought not?
Between the detective and priest, questions of faith in God, in man, and in miracles become crucial to the central mystery but also its emotional resolution. Yet, the film refuses to fall into preachiness. As he has in the past films, Johnson peppers in acrid elements of American culture, like conspiracy theories, opportunistic politics of online influencers, and the perversion of religious doctrine to capitalistic ends.
More than one watch would be required to properly probe all Johnson has to say on these subjects through their representation here. But on a first watch, these topics play into not only showing what this squad of sinners seeks in the church, but also how faith alone doesn't make one righteous. As Wake Up Dead Man leans into its curious title with a sensational third act, audiences will surely be pulled to the edge of their seats, wondering not only how this mystery resolves but what its answer will mean for the ever-questioning Benoit Blanc.
Along the way, a crackling cast brings exuberance, whether playing wrath, shock, relief, or deep, snarling resentment. Close and Brolin are standouts, portraying characters larger than life, but also — by this deeply lapsed Catholic's estimation — quite familiar to those who've spent sufficient time near a church altar or its whispering rectory.
Ultimately, like the Benoit Blanc mysteries that came before it, Wake Up Dead Man is sharply written, passionately brought to life, and thoughtfully built, with allusions galore in its costumes, characters, novels, lore, and more. It's a thrilling film that's a pleasure to see with an audience who is likewise enthusiastic to gather together to experience something strange and divine. And it's a movie I already crave to see again, eager to catch what clues or details I might have missed the first time around. It's not all about the mystery, or even the message. Rather, it's that Johnson makes these movies with such passion for visual storytelling that everything from background props, to staging, cinematography, and costumes feels ardently intentional. It's cinema, fit for the masses and for ardent reflection — and what a terrific miracle of the modern age that can be!
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery was reviewed out of the World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie will open in select theaters on Nov. 26, then debuts on Netflix on Dec. 12.
