Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery Trailer, Fun Facts & Review
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery Synopsis:
Master Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is called to an isolated, gothic religious parish in upstate New York to solve the seemingly impossible murder of its powerful leader, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Working with the troubled young priest, Reverend Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), Blanc must probe the dark secrets and moral complexities hidden among the Monsignor’s eccentric inner circle, pushing the limits of his purely rational approach.
Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Crime
Release Date: On Netflix December 12th, 2025
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery Fun Facts:
A "Darker" Tone:
Wake Up Dead Man shifts in tone compared to the earlier films. Knives Out had a warm atmosphere, and Glass Onion was stylish, but the third installment is darker with a gothic atmosphere; the tone is more realistic, focusing on ideas of faith and human weakness.
A Musical Title:
Like the previous films, the title is taken from a song. The title Wake Up Dead Man is borrowed from a track from the band U2's 1997 album, Pop.
Fictional Town and Fictional Catholic Parish:
"Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude" is a fictional Catholic parish created specifically for the movie Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The entire murder mystery is centered around this church, which is located in the fictional town of Chimney Rock, New York.
Filmed in London:
Even though the story takes place in upstate New York, the main filming started in June 2024 in London, England. The Holy Innocents Church located in High Beech was the main site where the filming took place.
All-Star Cast:
The movie features an amazing all-star cast, including Daniel Craig, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, and other great supporting cast in the mix.
Jeremy Renner's Return:
This movie is Jeremy Renner's first major role in a feature film since his near-fatal snowplow accident in early 2023.
Film Festivals:
The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 6th, 2025, with a limited theatrical release on November 26th, 2025, before it is released on Netflix on December 12th, 2025.
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery Review:
Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery is the third movie by Rian Johnson in the Knives Out franchise. The third installment is darker and more people-focused compared to the second movie, Glass Onion, set on the sunny Greek coast. The setting for this film took place in the fictional Catholic church in upstate New York. Johnson gives us a "small room" mystery—where the crime happens in a closed setting—that deals with the difficult subjects of religion and today's politics. He successfully handles these topics with his usual clever humor and a surprisingly serious tone.
The movie centers on the impossible crime: the murder of a well-spoken and powerful religious leader, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), during a church service on Good Friday. Wicks is found stabbed inside a small storage closet next to the main altar. The person most suspected of the crime is the church's newest, younger priest, Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), who is a former boxer with a troubled past. Master detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) quickly calls this case the "most complicated and surprising" he has ever worked on. He has to investigate a small but very religious group of suspects, and each person has secrets with their own hidden agenda.
Daniel Craig is great again as the sophisticated detective Benoit Blanc. His deep, intellectual discussions with Father Jud about believing in faith versus using logic are a major high point. However, the most heartfelt and emotional core of the movie definitely belongs to Josh O'Connor.
Josh O'Connor's performance as Father Jud is outstanding and surprisingly righteous. He plays the priest with a powerful mix of real emotions and fierce conviction. He embodies the character the audience identifies with: he is both the main suspect of the crime and Blanc's unwilling partner in solving the crime. His performance is so sincere and serious that it makes the whole mystery feel more important and dramatic.
The group of supporting cast is excellent. Josh Brolin is amazing playing the victim that is unlikeable. Glenn Close plays the devout church lady and strict church administrator, Martha Delacroix, and Kerry Washington plays the church's lawyer, Vera Draven; both stand out in their own unique performances. Their scenes show the complex connections and loyalties that tie everyone in the community to the dead Monsignor.
In this film, Johnson's criticism of society is focused on how religion can be used as a weapon and the politics of fear, which are shown through the victim, Monsignor Wicks. Importantly, the movie deals with these serious topics in a surprisingly subtle and sensitive way, allowing for sincere moments of true faith and good values to come to light, mostly shown by Father Jud. The mystery itself is a complex, cleverly set up crime in a "small room" that leads to a satisfying and meaningful ending.
By moving the story to a more closed-off and thoughtful place, Wake Up Dead Man A Knives Out Mystery successfully gets back to what made the first Knives Out movie so good. It is a smart, beautiful-looking, and surprisingly emotional mystery that uses the crime to explore important questions about what people believe and the dark secrets people hide behind a facade of righteousness. This is a powerful third film and may very well be the most visually appealing movie in the series.