Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

It’s time once again to dive into a bright, grotesque, and unpredictable story from Netflix’s hit Knives Out series — this time titled Wake Up Dead Man.

The film follows a young priest, Jud, who gets sent to a tiny town after an unpleasant incident, assigned to work in a church under the guidance of the extremely eccentric and very unusual priest Jefferson Wicks. From the very first moments Jud finds everything happening in this church incredibly strange and wildly atypical. And the second he starts voicing his concerns out loud, it becomes clear that everyone around him is oddly hostile toward him. But he isn’t exactly the timid type — he stands his ground. And just as he tries to figure out what’s going on, someone kills priest Wicks. Suddenly, all signs point to Jud. But of course, nothing is ever that simple.

This new chapter differs from the previous ones, first and foremost in the way the main characters interact. This isn’t some united group of people — it’s a cluster of fragmented individuals who aren’t exactly friends, let alone anything close to a family. This time, the outsider is not only Benoit Blanc — played once again with charming confidence by Daniel Craig — but also Jud, portrayed by Josh O’Connor. He steps in as the newcomer, the disruptor of routine and essentially the main driving force of this film’s entire plot.

Watching everything unfold on screen is genuinely interesting. The film’s visual palette is quite specific: on one hand, it feels fairytale-bright, on the other hand it leans into gothic grotesque — and it looks good and pleasant to the eye. Thematically, the film revolves around faith, but not religious faith — despite the fact that we spend most of the runtime literally inside a church. It’s more about believing in yourself, believing in the people around you, wanting to be part of something bigger, and trying to be good human beings even when that requires some very questionable decisions.

I’ll be honest: this time, waiting for the big reveal — the answer to the classic “who did it” — wasn’t as exciting as in the first two films. Mainly because we already know the pattern. We already understand that the endgame will be a plot twist wrapped inside another plot twist, so you don’t really bother trying to guess anything and simply follow the development of events. But in this case, the reveal doesn’t even feel like the most important or interesting part of the film, because Wake Up Dead Man has two incredibly strong driving forces that, in my opinion, made this film what it is: Josh O’Connor and Glenn Close.

I want to dedicate a separate paragraph to Josh O’Connor, because this is the last review of a film with him in 2025 — and actually the fourth review of a film with him this year. Which means Josh O’Connor starred in four films in 2025, and all four of them are good: The History of Sound, Mastermind, Rebuilding, and this one. I think this is an absolutely fantastic achievement. His instincts and his sense for choosing the right projects are impeccable, and the way he works on screen is simply outstanding. Josh O’Connor, you’re brilliant — and you’re the future of cinema.

Glenn Close, playing Martha — the woman who operates as Wicks’ right hand — becomes one of the film’s quiet power players. And even though the reveal itself isn’t particularly shocking or mind-blowing, it leads to the final scene between Josh O’Connor’s and Glenn Close’s characters — and that alone makes the wait worth it. That scene is more interesting, more intense, and more emotionally charged than the central mystery of who committed the murder.

The cast overall works perfectly well on screen, with a few exceptions like Mila Kunis and Jeremy Renner. Josh Brolin is fantastic as this occult-leaning clergyman who only ever wanted to be great and had nothing to do with actual faith. Kerry Washington as a lawyer is basically a little “hello” to Scandal. Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Jeffrey Wright, Thomas Haden Church — everyone delivers.

In the end, what we got is a film that, within the trilogy, doesn’t hit as hard as its predecessors — but in some way, it might actually be the most interesting of the three. Not because it forces you to crack the mystery or obsess over the mechanics, but because it lets you simply enjoy what’s happening on screen, with a brilliantly selected cast and incredible highlights in the form of young Josh O’Connor and legendary Glenn Close. That’s the unique charm of this Knives Out entry — and the very reason it deserves to be watched.

7.5/10