Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Story
Hey everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be discussing the film "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” Fun fact: Joseph Gordon Levitt and Noah Segan appear in all three Knives Out films, whether you see them or just hear them. In this film, Joseph is a baseball announcer while Noah is a bartender. This film came out in 2025 and stars Josh O’Connor, Daniel Craig, and Glenn Close, and was directed by Rian Johnson. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.
Wake Up Dead Man follows the death of Msgr. Wicks, who runs a church but has ostracized most people except a core group of members and his new Rev. Jud. When Wicks dies, everyone becomes a suspect, especially Jud, and the police seek the help of Benoit Blanc to figure out who the murderer actually is.
Wake Up Dead Man is a whodunit that will bring out the laughs. It has similar vibes to Knives Out, Poker Face, or Black Bag.
Knives Out is a film that was a pleasant surprise, but I love a who-dun-it, so I’m always going to watch, and after the last 2 being so good, I was excited for this one. Somehow, Rian Johnson can make these whodunits and still bring a great deal of mystery to who the killer is. It’s cool to have this outsider coming into this church, which starts to shake things up. One of the best things about these films is that they invite the audience to participate by guessing who the killer is and how they did it.
The movie begins with the perspective of Jud, and I was so interested in his backstory, coming from being a boxer to the church, and being made to go to this church after he punched another reverend. I was so invested in the story that I honestly forgot that Benoit was coming in to solve the crime that eventually happened. I loved how they used Jud as a way to introduce us to the church members and tell us their stories. I loved learning about them first, which gives us clues as to who can be the killer. As the film goes on, we learn more about them, and we learn that some things are gossip while other things are just told without all the facts. It makes the viewer feel like a detective because sometimes people are lying, sometimes they don’t have all the information, and sometimes people’s perspectives are different. I love seeing everything and putting together the pieces like a puzzle.
One thing about the Knives Out movies is that they will be stacked with actors you have seen before. In the main group at the church You have Josh O’Connor as Jud, Wicks played by Josh Brolin who has run the church for years after his grandfather’s death and is very judgmental, Glenn Close plays Martha who is like a sister to Wicks, Jeremy Renner plays a washed up Dr. who drinks to escape life, Kerry Washington plays a lawyer who was forced to raise her half brother played by Daryl McCormick who is just a conservative loser who is trying to become popular, Andrew Scott as a reclusive conservative writer, Cailee Spaeny as a violinist who hurt herself and is trying to find a miracle to get better, and Thomas Haden Church who plays the groundskeeper. There are even more people who are in the cast that make appearances, like Jeffrey Wright and Mila Kunis, and they all do such a great job in their roles. Obviously, Daniel kills it as Blanc with his southern drawl and expert detective skills. The casting is always so spot on, and not only do the characters shine in their roles, but they also mesh so well with the other cast members.
The character designs were great for this film. The outfits in this movie were on point. I particularly loved Daniel’s suits, but looking at everyone else’s outfits truly felt like it was something their character would wear. Other small details like hair and makeup stand out because they lean into what some might call more conservative or traditional. When you meet the characters, it just makes sense when you look at them and then see how they behave.
The film is filled with funny parts that catch you off guard as you're trying to solve the story. Some stand out like Martha scaring Jud, Martha saying that someone drew rocketships on the crypt, and any conversation Wicks had with Jud. I just love that inclusion of comedy in this story that has you trying to connect the dots.
I just love the idea of a whodunit because I love guessing, even though I was struggling to find the killer. At first, when they were talking about Agatha Christie, and it was such a tight-knit group, I said Oh, maybe it’s all of them, like murder on the Orient Express. When Blanc comes, I was like, what if it’s actually just Jud. Then Wicks supposedly came back, and I was like, oh, he’s going to steal the diamond, which they set up talking about being able to open the crypt from inside. It ends up being Martha and Nat who kill Wicks, who was planning on going inside the crypt to steal the diamond that she told him about. I just love all the twists and turns on who the murderer could be, and how, once you figure out the whole story, you see the hints laid out throughout the movie.
My favorite part of Wake Up Dead Man was Josh O’Connor’s performance. I thought he did a good job not only playing this reverend but also with his American accent. He was great at narrating and leading the beginning of the film, which sets up all the events. I loved that his character had a troubled past and how he tried very hard to stay on the right path and had this inner turmoil. He tried to remain calm when speaking and tried not to assault anyone, which was hard because these people were really testing him. He also tried to help and show these people that they don’t have to do things the way that they have been doing them. He showed what it's like to be selfless because when he was speaking with the lady on the phone, she asked if he could talk to her about her mom, and he’s the prime suspect of a crime and there is a missing fortune, and he doesn’t care and instead tries to help this lady. I love how he was trying to be honest and follow the rules, and Blanc had a plan and just needed him to trust him. In the end, he hides the jewel, as he should, and leads the church with much less judgment than Wicks.
Wake Up Dead Man is a fantastic addition to the Knives Out franchise. The cast is fantastic in their roles, and the story will have you deeply invested, trying to put together who killed Wicks while laughing at the random things that come up in the film.
