Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

He works in mysterious ways.

When young priest Jud Duplenticy is sent to assist charismatic firebrand Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, it’s clear that all is not well in the pews. After a sudden and seemingly impossible murder rocks the town, the lack of an obvious suspect prompts local police chief Geraldine Scott to join forces with renowned detective Benoit Blanc to unravel a mystery that defies all logic.

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Reviews on TMDB

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The Fixate & Binge Podcast, w/ Joe Curdyon TMDB · Jul 20269/10
Rian Johnson's third release for the eponymously named **KNIVES OUT** franchise -- **WAKE UP DEAD MAN** -- shows no signs of depreciating in quality -- as the latest offering is arguably better than its predecessors, a rare trait of film franchises that tend to degrade with audiences. But **WAKE UP DEAD MAN** is no slouch -- delivering, yet again, another whip-smart screenplay with compelling, multidimensional characters that will keep viewers guessing in this thrilling whodunnit that tackles theology, and faith in a small, suspicious town after a mysterious murder is committed. Josh Brolin's austere, fire and brimstone parish priest fires on all cylinders here -- castigating outsiders and insiders with his Bible-thumping speeches; Glenn Close as Brolin's lickspittle assistant, fussing over all the parish's needs and affairs -- is brilliant, as always -- but the arrival of Josh O'Connor as the assistant priest to the parish provides an outsider's glimpse into the very insular and loyal town coterie that sit in the nave and endure Brolin's judgments week after week. O'Connor gives a master class as a man torn between the parishioner's suspicions and his own spiritual journey towards
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Brent Marchanton TMDB · Jan 20268/10
How refreshing it is when a movie turns out to be better than expected. And such is very much the case in this third installment in the “Knives Out” murder mystery franchise, arguably the best offering in the series. In the interest of full disclosure, I was not particularly looking forward to watching this release. While the first two films were modestly entertaining, they had occasional tendencies toward silliness and incredulity that detracted from their core focus and overall quality. However, this latest effort is a pleasant surprise, primarily due to a noteworthy maturation of the material, with better writing, better storytelling, deeper and more believable character development, and solid performances across the board. In addition, the narrative has made a deliberate attempt to incorporate more substantive, more thoughtful content in the story and script, a notable improvement over the two previous pictures. Also, in an attempt to add a sense of relevance, the screenplay includes references to contemporary events and trends, elements noticeably lacking in the franchise’s two prior works. While the story here is too complicated to address in considerable detail, it essential
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CinemaSerfon TMDB · Dec 20257/10
Pugilistic priest “Fr. Jud” (Josh O’Connor) has lost his temper with a deacon and been consigned to a remote country parish where his plain-speaking bishop (Jeffrey Wright) hopes he can do less damage. Upon his arrival, though, he realises that this is quite an eccentric little congregation led by the mildly megalomaniacal “Monsignor” (Josh Brolin) and his ever so slightly menacing factotum “Martha” (Glenn Close). The new arrival isn’t universally welcome, especially when he tries to impose his own more religious approach to parish affairs, and then somewhat out of the blue, the older churchman is mysteriously killed. Of course, “Jud” is the obvious suspect but the arrival of the Poirot-esque “Benoit Blanc” (Daniel Craig) to help with the investigation soon reveals that just about anyone from this tightly knit community had some sort of axe to grind. It also transpires that there’s a missing eighty million dollar fortune, a bit of illegitimacy, a secret romance and even an acid bath to be factored in, too! It’s Cluedo on steroids! Brolin reminded me of Kris Kristofferson the whole way through as his behaviour gets wackier and more manipulative and he does gel well with an O’Connor
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