150 Word Review: 'Wake Up Dead Man’ (2025)

Catholic guilty

Photo: Netflix

Kyrie eleison. Director/writer Rian Johnson’s cheeky love letters to Agatha Christie–style whodunits are fun but uneven; the last one, Glass Onion, was, in a word, bloated. But this third Knives Out movie is the best of the series. Set in a sleepy upstate New York town, Wake Up Dead Man is more grounded than previous entries, but still... ridiculous. It’s a luminous, pop-Gothic murder mystery that is also an unexpectedly sincere exploration of faith. Josh O’Connor is soulful as a young priest with a dark past who wants to help the lost and spread the word of Christ. Daniel Craig returns as dandy detective Benoit Blanc, a flamboyant Southern gentleman, but this time he’s more subdued. His rapport with O’Connor helps.

The cast includes a thundering Josh Brolin, Andrew Scott, and a terrific Glenn Close. The “impossible murder” is impossible, but there are moments of grace that are most welcome.

---