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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

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• Crime/detective
• Mystery

• 2025
• Rian Johnson
• 144 mins
• 12A

Summary

Murder mystery starring Daniel Craig and Josh O'Connor. Private detective Benoit Blanc arrives in a small town in upstate New York, where a senior Catholic priest has been murdered during a service. The deceased's deputy, Father Jud, is the chief suspect following the pair's recent falling-out. However, with the murder taking place under seemingly impossible circumstances, Blanc struggles to figure out "howdunit" as much as "whodunit".

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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Patrick Cremona

Having previously staged star-studded murder mysteries at a cosy mansion and a lavish private island, Rian Johnson's third Knives Out film unfolds against the backdrop of a small Catholic parish in upstate New York. This time, Daniel Craig's Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc is tasked with solving the murder of an intimidating priest (Josh Brolin), whose increasingly warped fire and brimstone sermons have seen him brush up against Josh O'Connor's younger clergyman. What makes the mystery so enticing is that it initially appears to be an impossible crime, with Johnson's script making several references to John Dickson Carr's classic "locked room" mystery novel The Hollow Man. The church setting allows the director to make cinematic use of religious iconography and deliver a pointed satire about the way contemporary right-wing figures have weaponised faith to their own ends. Meanwhile, the film gets a little darker, more unsettling, and weirder than the previous instalments - embracing elements of gothic horror - and although there are times where the case threatens to get a little too convoluted, it eventually leads to a hugely satisfying denouement.

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7.3/10

How to watch

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Streaming

• Netflix

Credits

Cast

rolenameBenoit BlancDaniel CraigFr. Jud DuplenticyJosh O'ConnorMartha DelacroixGlenn CloseMons. Jefferson WicksJosh BrolinChief Geraldine ScottMila KunisDr. Nat SharpJeremy RennerVera Draven, Esq.Kerry WashingtonLee RossAndrew ScottSimone VivaneCailee SpaenyCy DravenDaryl McCormack

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Crew

rolenameDirectorRian JohnsonWriterRian JohnsonProducerRam BergmanProducerRian JohnsonComposerNathan JohnsonDirector of photographySteve YedlinEditorBob DucsayCastingBret HoweCastingMary VernieuProduction designerRick Heinrichs

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Details

Theatrical distributor

Netflix

Released on

2025-11-26

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing, sexual references

Formats

Colour

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  Knives Out 3's Andrew Scott explains why Catholic Church is the perfect backdrop for a murder mystery
  
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  The stars of the latest Knives Out film – including Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny and Andrew Scott – have lavished praise on the former James Bond star.

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  Daniel Craig reveals why he thinks the Knives Out films are not "whodunnits" at all
  
  "Those are the worst kind of movies."

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