🎬 Wake Up Dead Man (2025) — Benoit Blanc Returns in a Bold, Uneven but Brilliantly Entertaining Mystery

When the lights dimmed at the Toronto International Film Festival 2025, fans knew they were about to step once again into the mind of Rian Johnson — the man who reinvented the modern whodunnit with Knives Out and Glass Onion. And now, with Wake Up Dead Man (2025), Daniel Craig’s southern detective Benoit Blanc returns for another intricate, darkly funny, and politically charged mystery that dares to break the rules of its own genre.

🕵️ A Murder in the Church

This time, the puzzle unfolds within the walls of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, a small-town parish where secrets, sins, and scandals hide behind stained glass.

When a shocking murder shakes the community, everyone becomes a suspect — from the charismatic priest (Josh Brolin) to the mysterious newcomer (Josh O’Connell), the loyal church worker (Glenn Close), and a web of parishioners who seem to know more than they should.

The cast is a powerhouse: Daniel Craig, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, and Thomas Haden Church — a lineup worthy of Agatha Christie herself. Yet, in true Johnson fashion, the story refuses to play by traditional rules.

🎭 The Tone: Sharp, Satirical, and Unpredictable

If Knives Out mocked the hypocrisy of privilege and Glass Onion skewered tech-billionaire arrogance, Wake Up Dead Man fires directly into the world of politics and faith.

Through sharp satire and biting humor, Rian Johnson uses his murder mystery not only to entertain but to comment — and sometimes provoke.
Josh Brolin’s cult-like priest draws an unmistakable parallel to modern populism, while Daryl McCormack’s influencer character feels like a mirror to our digital-age chaos.

It’s a story where moral authority, celebrity, and fanaticism collide — and Benoit Blanc, ever the elegant truth-seeker, must navigate the chaos with his trademark southern charm and razor wit.

🎬 A Shift in Focus

Surprisingly, Wake Up Dead Man is not really Benoit Blanc’s movie.
This third chapter centers on Josh O’Connell’s character, the conflicted young priest, whose crisis of faith becomes the emotional spine of the story.
While Blanc remains the clever observer guiding the narrative, it’s O’Connell’s journey that drives the film — and in doing so, shifts the energy of the series.

This choice gives the film a haunting intimacy, but it also creates a sense of imbalance. Fans expecting a pure ensemble mystery may find themselves craving more interaction between the colorful suspects and the detective who made the series iconic.

💡 A Different Kind of Mystery

Unlike its predecessors, where “who did it?” was the central question, Wake Up Dead Man is more about why it happened — and what it says about the world we live in.

The plot twists still come fast and furious, but the emotional core feels heavier, more introspective.
Johnson draws inspiration not just from Agatha Christie, but from Edgar Allan Poe, weaving gothic undertones and religious symbolism into his trademark puzzle structure.

It’s a mystery with atmosphere — candlelight, whispers, secrets, and shadows — where every revelation feels like a confession.

⚖️ The Strengths and the Flaws

The film’s greatest triumph lies in its ambition.
Johnson pushes the Knives Out universe into new territory, daring to mix comedy, social critique, and psychological drama.
The dialogue sparkles, the pacing builds tension, and Daniel Craig once again commands every scene with his effortless magnetism.

However, the film’s complexity occasionally becomes its burden.
With so many characters and subplots, some players — including Kerry Washington and Jeremy Renner — are given little to do beyond brief appearances. The story sometimes loses focus amid its big ideas and shifting tones.

Still, even when it stumbles, Wake Up Dead Man remains undeniably watchable — clever, audacious, and deeply entertaining.

🎥 The Verdict: A Brave New Chapter

At its best, Wake Up Dead Man (2025) is Rian Johnson’s most daring experiment yet — a film that challenges not only its characters but also its audience. It’s uneven, yes, but never dull; messy, but often magnificent.

Like the church it portrays, the movie is full of contradictions: faith and doubt, truth and illusion, sin and salvation.

And through it all, Benoit Blanc reminds us why we keep coming back — because no one else makes mysteries like this anymore.

⭐ Verdict:
A bold, provocative, and sometimes divisive entry in the Knives Out saga. Not perfect, but unforgettable.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Release: December 2025 (Netflix & Theatrical)
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connell, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner