Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | September 8, 2025
Father Judd (Josh O’Connor) is a good man. After a minor slip-up, he is assigned to be the second-in-command of a shrinking parish headed by Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin), a firebrand of the pulpit who spews hate and division to a coterie of loyal devotees. Soon, someone is dead in what seems to be an impossible crime, and who else should be called in to investigate but the one and only Benoit Blanc?
The third addition to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series is further proof that the director is both a skilled filmmaker and puzzle nerd who knows crime fiction like the back of his hand. Where the first movie borrowed from cosy mysteries and the second was a blow-out vacation whodunit, Wake Up Dead Man takes its cues from gothic fiction, Edgar Allan Poe, and the novels of John Dickson Carr. Here we have a good old-fashioned locked door mystery: The suspects, a corpse, and seemingly no way that the murder could have taken place. It’s perfect for everyone’s favourite musical-loving Southern dandy and his hunger for a challenge.
The mood with this installment is noticeably darker than its predecessors. The setting of a beautiful but near-barren Neo-Gothic church feels especially doom-laden with Monsignor Wicks at the forefront. Wicks is a bitter misogynist who revels in the opportunity to bully the congregation from his holy pedestal. Death is around the corner, yes, but for Judd, the stakes are even higher than that. Souls are at stake. For Blanc, a non-believer who thinks organised religion is a crock of sh*t, what matters is solving the case. But what if doing so hurts more people than it helps?
All three films contain wacky characters and laugh-out-loud jokes, but this time around, we have a hero who is struggling with the grand questions of life, death, and God. And it’s not Blanc. More than any other film in the trilogy, Wake Up Dead Man focuses on a non-Benoit hero. Judd is dedicated to Jesus and following his teachings. Godly forgiveness gave him a new life and he wants everyone to share in that. When he becomes a murder suspect and his pleas for justice are drowned out, he fears his hard-fought grace will be erased in favour of anger. There’s a lot going on with Judd and even Blanc is conflicted about his plight. It’s a career-best performance from Josh O’Connor, who has spent years carving out a path to undisputed stardom via The Crown, La Chimera, and Challengers.
Johnson has always attracted a murderers’ row of talent to his capers, and this one is no exception. Glenn Close shines as a Mrs. Danvers-esque housekeeper with a pious streak a mile wide. Kerry Washington exudes caged bitterness as a lawyer shackled to the town she hates. Daryl McCormack is her adopted son, who films everything as part of his attempt to become the next Joe Rogan. Cailee Spaeny and Andrew Scott have smaller roles as the chronically ill musician desperate for a miracle and the writer easily influenced to become a right-wing stooge. Jeremy Renner is a bit of a weak spot in a role that would have been played by Michael Shannon had he not been in the first film. And, of course, there is always Daniel Craig, who never seems more nimble and warm than he does as Blanc. Bond who?
Both the first film and Glass Onion played around with class politics and some classic “eat the rich” fare. This time around, the focus is more on the cultural shift brought about by conservative rot. Gee, I can’t imagine why the guy who survived the Last Jedi antis would feel this way. Wicks is undoubtedly Trumpian in his rhetoric, using God as a cudgel to rant about women and fostering hostility among his followers. The fewer his numbers become, as parishioners abandon his flock, the more they become like cult devotees. Father Judd is the outsider because he dares to espouse the radical belief that God isn’t a playground bully. This is a fascinatingly earnest film about the real Christianity that has become overwhelmed by the agenda-ridden brats who have appropriated it. I’m, like Blanc, a heretic, but I’ll take one of these over anything that Kirk Cameron has made.
Watching a Swiss watch of precision at work with this mystery is half the fun in a Knives Out movie - I never figure out the culprit - but so is seeing the emotions it elicits. These films are nothing without the heroes at the centre whose beating heart provides a safe port in the storm. Father Judd is a compelling figure and his plight is a layered and pathos-laden narrative that might be one of Johnson’s creative peaks. Three films in and this franchise only gets more interesting. One cannot help but hope that he and Craig decide to be as prolific with this series as Agatha Christie was with Poirot.
Wake Up Dead Man had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 26th, and will be released by Netflix on December 12th, 2025.
