Scooby Dooby-Doo! Benoit Blanc is back from the dead!
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery follows young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), after he’s been sent to work with controversial firebrand preacher, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Manipulative and malevolent, Wicks commands the pulpit with an iron fist, keeping his modest-but-devoted flock in check. However, after a sudden and impossible murder shakes the congregation to its very core, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) appears, determined to unravel the bloody enigma before him.
Once again, Rian Johnson has whipped up a cacophony of murderous mayhem. Three films into his Knives Out world, Johnson has now established himself as one of cinema’s premiere mystery writers. Emulating different styles in each project, he seems to revel in the tropes of the genre while still managing to upend them. Johnson understands that his audience knows the tropes of this form of storytelling and he plays with them gleefully. For example, even Benoit Blanc speaks of how extraordinary an experience it is to be there when he eventually reveals the truth to a room full of people.
“It’s really quite impressive,” he points out with pride.
And yes, as always, Daniel Craig’s performance as Benoit Blanc continues to be well-worth the viewing experience. Unlike his tenure as Bond, Craig clearly loves to play the smarmy sleuth. In his third entry, he continues to play with the character with endless amounts of energy. He furrows his brow when pieces don’t add up and bounces around onscreen when they do. What’s more, unlike Branaugh’s recent revival of Poirot, Blanc has a self-deprecating side to his character that balances out his brilliance. There’s simply a joy to his performance that continues to be inviting.
And, this time, Wake Up Dead Man has more than murder on its mind. Like other entries into the Knives Out world, Blanc’s mysteries operate as metaphors for struggles within our own culture. For instance, whereas the first film dealt with conversations surrounding immigration, Glass Onion satirizes the false security of the uber-wealthy. In that spirit, Wake Up explores the ways that people in power can weaponize fear in order to keep people in check. Without giving spoilers, Monsignor Wicks has built his legacy on the back of Scriptural wrath, demanding loyalty as penance for sin. His reign of terror carries suspiciously familiar political implications that grounds the film in the familiarity of our world today.
This toxic leadership is held up in juxtaposition to the more compassionate Deplenticy. As the community’s young priest, he enters into his new parish not looking to conquer but to serve. As the young priest, O’Connor brings a wisdom and peaceful spirit that proves to be elegant. His past is far from perfect yet he believes that one needs to lead with grace. But this gentle tone becomes genuinely threatening to the Monsignor, increasing the strain on their relationship.
Of course, sitting within the tension between the two perspectives are their congregants. These are simple people who fear trusting the wrong person (yet also seem to fear not trusting the wrong person).
Even so, Johnson’s film also makes use of its spiritual setting to wrestle with unexpectedly deep questions of faith and fiction. As Blanc enters into Deplenticy’s parish, he brings with him complex baggage of his beliefs about God, the church and its history of corruption. He may be man searching for clues to solve a murder but he believes he already has the answers when it comes to issues of spirituality.
Though, again, Deplenticy’s genuine spirit of grace strikes a chord with Blanc. Even in an organization that has a history of corruption, there’s something endearing and earnest about his beliefs that are still worth… something to Blanc. Johnson balances this tension between faith and disbelief with careful consideration, neither condemning nor affirming Christian theology in the process. Yet, by walking the line between truths, Johnson creates a conversation about faith that few dare to have. He offers legitimate challenges to the history of the church and its failings. However, he also dares to see the value in faith, wrestling with the truths of Jesus and how they are meant to be expressed in the world without sounding preachy.
All in the midst of a complex murder mystery.
It’s that level of depth that makes Wake Up Dead Man yet another entry into the increasingly stellar Knives Out canon. Johnson ensures that every one of these films continues to bring its own flavour and energy, making each feel unique and delightfully complex. And I’m already ready to see what he and Benoit Blanc have cooked up next.
Wake Up Dead Man is available in theatres on Wednesday, November 26th, 2025 and on Netflix on December 12th, 2025.
