Rian Johnson is no stranger to the Toronto International Film Festival. First debuting The Brothers Bloom in 2008 at the festival, Johnson returns for the fifth time with his latest film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Each instalment of Knives Out takes inspiration from popular murder mystery novels, and Wake Up Dead Man is no different as it takes inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic sombre The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
The third film in the Knives Out series continues the tale of Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Blanc is called to a small town when the local Monsignor, Priest Jefferson Wright (Josh Brolin) is murdered. The prime suspect is the new young Priest, Rev. Jud Duplentcity (Josh O’Connor). With the town and those close to Wright seemingly believing Jud is the culprit, Blanc sets out to find the truth and see if their suspicions are true or not.
Rian Johnson takes a risk with Wake Up Dead Man by putting Blanc as the side character and Rev. Jud as the central character. A move that seemingly should not work, yet surprisingly does with the series’ clever storytelling and Johnson’s sense of humour. We all know who Detective Blanc is from the previous instalments; setting him aside as the side character makes room for Reverend Jud to develop as one of the series’ best characters, thanks to Josh O’Connor’s performance as a Priest questioning his faith and morals.
The film does not shy away from its themes of faith and morals, questioning what is right and wrong and if one does not have faith, then what do they have? When one uses their status to abuse their power to manipulate and give false hope, can one still believe in faith or lose it all? There are questions that Johnson asks in the film that he delivers with a sombre look as opposed to the previous instalments about family hierarchy and status, and the greediness of the devious rich.
Where Wake Up Dead Man unfortunately fails is in its utilization of its ensemble cast. Knives Out and Glass Onion were able to use the cast’s characters to add depth to the characters and stories to enhance the whodunit experience. Wake Up Dead Man, however, keeps some of them on the sidelines and never fully utilizes them. So much more could have been done to bring life into these characters instead of making them one-dimensional.
The biggest standout would have to be none other than the talented Glenn Close as the Monsignor’s right-hand Martha Delacroix. Much like Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close stole each scene when she appeared and delivered a highlight of a performance, making Wake Up Dead Man one of her most memorable performances. Josh O’Connor’s Rev. Jud elevated the story as a man trying to align his faith and morals with the recent events that have been bestowed upon him. Thanks to Johnson’s writing and directing, O’Connor also delivers a highlight of a performance.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery delivers a humorous gothic murder mystery that questions faith and morals. While it may not be as strong as the previous two instalments, Johnson still delivers a great movie thanks to his signature storytelling and humour, and Daniel Craig’s lovable Southern Detective Benoit Blanc.
Watch the trailer right here.
All images via Netflix.
Directed by Rian Johnson
Screenplay by Rian Johnson
Produced by Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Katie McNeill
Starring Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Cailee Spaeny, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church
Premiere Date: September 6, 2025 (Toronto)
Running Time: 140 minutes
Cinema from the Spectrum 
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