If Rian Johnson wants to keep making these forever, I’ll keep showing up
Wake up Dead Man made me mad that it was smarter than me.
Am I just thick? I could be, who knows.
Plot Summary of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Spoiler-Free)
Wake Up Dead Man is the third film in the Knives Out series, and once again it drops Benoit Blanc into a completely new world with a completely new group of people who mostly deserve to be side-eyed at best.
This time, the story is set in a small, intense religious community built around a towering church and an even more towering personality, where a young priest named Father Jud has recently been moved to this parish after an incident involving another priest that hints at deeper trouble beneath his calm surface.
The church is run by Jefferson Wicks, a loud, commanding leader whose sermons feel more like verbal attacks than spiritual guidance, and he thrives on control and certainty, where the people around him treat his word as absolute truth.
During a packed Easter service, Wicks steps briefly into a small room off the church floor, and moments later, he is discovered dead with a knife in his back, and of course, no one saw anything.
That is where Benoit Blanc enters the story, quietly observing, gently poking, and letting everyone talk themselves into corners.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery: Is It Worth Watching?
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is another strong entry in a series that seems to just refuse to collapse under its own reputation, and it has that quiet confidence where you know the film knows exactly what it’s doing and doesn’t need to rush to prove it.
Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc is now fully settled into his own strange little corner of detective history, and here he comes across as more reflective, and less showy than before, and that works beautifully with the setting.
This isn’t no flashy mansion or a billionaire’s playground – it’s a place filled with belief, guilt, fear, and power struggles, and Blanc adjusts to that energy rather than overpowering it.
This film could have easily leaned too hard into cleverness and lost its heart., but instead, it anchors the mystery in someone who genuinely wants to do good and is clearly suffering under the weight of everyone else’s certainty.
Scenes are given the room to breathe, where the conversations linger just long enough and awkward silences actually stay awkward, where you take notice of the body language, glances, who interrupted whom, and who stayed quiet.
We do get some moments where the satire nudges a bit too hard, like the film is elbowing you and saying “do you get it?” Yes, I get it, calm down, but thankfully those moments are brief.
Now I might be a bit thick as mentioned, but for me the mystery played out fair without feeling too obvious, where the clues are there, surrounded by enough noise and personality that your attention drifts. and I spent a good chunk of the film thinking I was ahead of it.
I was not, and the ending was just a calm, logical breakdown that made me groan quietly because of course that’s what it was. That groan, by the way, is the highest compliment I can give a mystery.
Visually, this might be my favorite Knives Out film., too.
The church setting is used beautifully, with light, shadow, height, and space that all matter here, and there are shots that will make you stop thinking about the plot for a second just to appreciate how bold and simple they are.
If this is the weakest film in the trilogy, which I still think it might be, that says more about how strong the first two were than anything else, as on its own, Wake Up Dead Man is sharp, thoughtful, and deeply satisfying.
What I Liked (And What I Didn’t Like)
Pros
Benoit Blanc feels fully formed
Craig knows this character inside out now, and it shows in every small choice
Josh O’Connor
His performance gives the film an actual soul instead of just a brain.
The Mystery
Everything you need is there, even if you miss it, like I did.
The Quiet humor
The funniest moments often come from the reactions, and not the punchlines.
It Rewards a Second Viewing
I already know I missed things, and I’m excited to find them.
Cons
A Few Characters Deserved More Time
There are some interesting people who fade a bit too quickly.
Some Satire is a Little Heavy Handed
Trust me, I get the point.
One Subplot Feels Slightly Undercooked
Not bad, just unfinished.
Who Might Like Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
- Fans of classic murder mysteries
- People who like movies that trust them to pay attention
- Anyone who enjoys Daniel Craig in this role
- Anyone who appreciates darker themes mixed with humor
- Fans of the first two Knives Out films
- Anyone who likes being proven wrong by a clever ending
Who Might Dislike Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
- People who prefer lighter, sillier mysteries
- Anyone looking for constant twists every five minutes
- Anyone hoping for Glass Onion level spectacle
Final Verdict: Did I Enjoy Watching Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery?
Wake Up Dead Man doesn’t try to outdo the previous films by being louder or bigger, it just goes deeper.
If Rian Johnson wants to keep making these forever, I’ll keep showing up, and just maybe next time, I’ll pretend I’m not trying to solve it and enjoy being wrong all over again.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Trailer
Simon Leasher
A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More
And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.
Discover more from Simon Leasher Film Reviews
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Be First to Comment