At a glance
Expert's Rating
Our Verdict
Following a strong response to both Knives Out and Glass Onion, Rian Johnson has once again shown his love for murder mysteries with Wake Up Dead Man, his own spin on a locked room mystery. Fans of both whodunnits and the previous Benoit Blanc films won’t be disappointed in this entry that keeps audiences guessing throughout.
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When Benoit Blanc burst onto screens in 2019 in Netflix’s Knives Out, it was clear he was a welcome addition to the canon of great sleuths.
He joins such illustrious company as Jessica Fletcher, Hercule Poirot and Philip Marlowe. After two highly successful films, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Rian Johnson might run out of steam, but as he has proven with the hugely successful TV series Poker Face, he is one of the best writers of whodunnits working today.
Wake Up Dead Man sees Benoit Blanc drawn to a seemingly impossible locked room murder of a priest during a short break in his sermon. The priest in question, Monsignor Wicks, was a controversial figure, leading a devoted, almost cult-like congregation that alienated newcomers.
We follow Josh O’Connor’s Reverend Jud, a newcomer to the sleepy parish of Chimney Rock. Jud has been sent to the area after a stint at a more urban church and is clearly at odds with Wicks’ unconventional methods.
A criminally good ensemble
Josh O’Connor isn’t the only newbie joining Daniel Craig’s Blanc; Glenn Close is a wonderful foil as Martha Delacroix, the devout, overly pious lady of the church running all sorts of errands and knowing all the gossip… or as Jud puts it, where the bodies are buried.
Jeremy Renner plays the hard-drinking town doctor, Nat Sharp, while Kerry Washington portrays an ambitious lawyer, Vera. Andrew Scott plays a down-on-his-luck, successful science fiction novelist, penning a novel on Wick and his methods. Further names in this most stacked of ensembles include rising star Cailee Spaeny, Thomas Haden Church and Daryl McCormack.
O’Connor excels as Blanc’s right-hand man, one of the most memorable supporting roles in the franchise
The supporting casts in these films are always delightful, and the interplay here once again delivers. As the group is increasingly radicalised and drawn to Wicks, it’s difficult to pinpoint who might have a vendetta against this pillar of their community.
The only drawback surrounding the cast is perhaps a lack of development for some of the characters. It’s mainly Jud and Martha who are given the most room to breathe within the story. The first Knives Out still feels like the most fleshed-out line-up overall.
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O’Connor excels as Blanc’s right-hand man, one of the most memorable supporting roles in the franchise, alongside Ana De Armas’ Marta Cabrera in the first film. In truth, he is every bit its co-lead, anchoring proceedings until Benoit Blanc makes his somewhat belated entrance, as we come to grips with who is who in Chimney Rock.
He brings a fragility and uncertainty to Jud, a man looking to make his mark in the church and clearly perturbed by what he is seeing. Jud and Benoit make for a fun foil and keep the film from feeling like a retread.
A touch of the Gothic
Each Benoit Blanc film has had a different aesthetic and tone. The autumnal palette of the first film contrasted with the summery Greek locations in Glass Onion. This film, shot on location in Ireland and the UK, is set in the run-up to and days following Easter, a crucial time for the Catholic Church.
It once again cleverly dissects what we expect from this genre in the most meta entry in the series to date
Visually and tonally, there are more than a few homages to Gothic literature, adding a slightly eerie atmosphere, which Nathan Johnson’s moody score wonderfully reflects.
There are also nods to some of the greats of detective fiction with namedrops for Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Vicarage and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and most prominently John Dickson Carr’s The Hollow Man, the first locked room mystery and a text at the heart of the story here.
That all said, at 2 hours 20 minutes (like its predecessor Glass Onion) it does feel a tad overlong, with so many twists and turns crammed in – a slightly tighter runtime could elevate this film to even greater heights.
Should you watch Wake Up Dead Man?
Fans of both the first two films and murder mysteries will find their grey cells engaged by Wake Up Dead Man. It once again cleverly dissects what we expect from this genre in the most meta entry in the series to date.
The additional Gothic elements firmly separate it from the previous movies. Sure, not every character got the best arc, and the runtime could have been trimmed down a tad, but the third instalment is still to die for.
While Netflix’s deal ends after this film, it would be a huge surprise if we didn’t see further investigations for Benoit Blanc in the years to come. It’s a role Daniel Craig once again slips effortlessly into, with his exaggerated Southern accent and mannerisms as eccentric and entertaining as ever.
Wake Up Dead Man will run in select cinemas from 26 November 2025 and hits Netflix on 12 December 2025.
Tickets are available to book in UK cinemas such as Showcase and Picturehouse, while US readers can buy them from Fandango. Alternatively, you can sign up for Netflix here, with accounts starting from £5.99/$7.99 per month.
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Author: Chris Connor, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Chris Connor is a freelance film, TV and music critic whose work can be found in NME. Radio Times, Metro, IGN and more. He covers everything from espionage fiction to Star Wars, blending huge franchise films and indie releases and is especially keen on world cinema.