Wake Up Dead Man Review: The Sharpest Knives Out Yet?

Rian Johnson is back in the Benoit Blanc business, and yes, Daniel Craig dusts off that syrupy Southern drawl like it never left. The third Knives Out case might be the sharpest yet: leaner, stranger, and set in a place where secrets are literally built into the walls.

Instead of another stately mansion or billionaire island, Johnson parks the mystery in a small Catholic parish in upstate New York. It turns out to be a perfect playground for confession, guilt, and theatrically staged sermons. Johnson knows it, too — he leans into religious imagery hard: fire-and-brimstone pulpit showdowns, a conspicuously missing crucifix, even a few winks at resurrection.

There is also a pointed edge to all this. The movie has a lot to say about faith and how certain American power players twist Christianity to suit their politics. It is not subtle, and it is not trying to be.

The players and the crime

• Daniel Craig is back as Benoit Blanc, self-described 'proud heretic', as unflappable and bemused as ever.
• Josh Brolin is Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, a commanding priest and the cult-adjacent figurehead of Our Lady of Perpetual Grace. He is more charisma than compassion, but his loyal flock hangs on every scorched-earth sermon.
• Josh O'Connor plays Reverend Jud Duplenticy, a younger priest with a conscience and a temper — he was exiled to the parish after decking another clergyman. He and Wicks clash immediately.
• Glenn Close pops up in the ensemble and makes her moments count. So do several other A-listers, because of course they do in a Knives Out movie.
• Mila Kunis shows up as the local police chief with a talent for deadpan.

The shocker arrives fast: Wicks is found in the sacristy with a knife between his shoulder blades just seconds after his congregation watched him step away from the pulpit. No one saw a thing, and there is no obvious way anyone could have pulled it off. Jud, naturally, becomes a prime person of interest — and he turns to Blanc for help, who has been pulled in to assist the locals.

'This is an impossible crime,' Blanc says, and he is not overselling it.

Johnson even tips his hat to John Dickson Carr's The Hollow Man — catnip for mystery nerds — and goes full 'locked room' with the mechanics. It hooks you early, and then the movie gets weirder from there.

The vibe: darker, foggier, funnier than you expect

Tonally, this one drifts into gothic territory without losing the dry, needling humor that makes these films play like a hangout and a high-wire act at the same time. There is literal fog. Despite the Easter backdrop, the whole thing feels wintry and damp, like you can smell the incense and old wood.

As Mila Kunis's chief puts it: 'Scooby Doo s**t.'

Does the plot get twisty? Absolutely. There are moments where it looks like Johnson is juggling one puzzle piece too many. But he knows exactly where he is leading you. If it feels like the thread slips, it is on purpose — the pay-off lands, and the final needle drop is a killer.

Craig, O'Connor, Brolin — and a sharp supporting bench

Craig remains a delight as Blanc, still finding new shades three cases in and clearly having a blast. O'Connor steps into the confidant role that Ana de Armas and Janelle Monae took in the first two films, and he is terrific. Brolin makes Wicks both magnetic and unnerving, and Glenn Close quietly steals scenes like it is a reflex.

Bottom line

This might be the best Knives Out yet — at minimum, it is the strangest and most assured. It will have fans asking Johnson and Craig to keep these coming.

Release plan (yes, the order is unusual)

'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' hits Netflix on 12 November, then opens in cinemas on 26 November. Streaming first, theatrical after — a curious flip, but those are the dates. If you are counting pennies, Netflix plans start at £5.99 a month, and the app is available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.