The Screen Scribe

There’s a particular kind of comfort in a proper murder mystery. Not the modern “gritty prestige” kind where everyone whispers in grey rooms, but the old-fashioned ensemble puzzle box where secrets clatter out of wardrobes and everyone is guilty of something, even if they didn’t do the murder. The Knives Out series has become the closest thing we have to a modern Poirot run, and frankly, that alone makes it a refreshing change of pace from the usual Hollywood noise. Wake Up Dead Man keeps that tradition alive, even as it drags Blanc into murkier territory than we’re used to. Solid, entertaining, and well-performed. Just not quite as sharp as it thinks it is.

This time, Benoit Blanc finds himself in a leafy, insular corner of upstate New York, drawn into a case that smells less like champagne and more like incense. A divisive Catholic monsignor has died, and the circumstances around his death open a floodgate of grudges, contradictions, and uncomfortable truths. The parish itself is in turmoil, faith and power are tangled together, and a missing inheritance hangs over the community like a storm cloud. Blanc’s key point of entry into this world is Father Jud Duplenticy, an earnest young priest sent into a situation that is already rotten from the inside. From there, the film does what Knives Out does best. It assembles a room full of suspects, lets them talk themselves into trouble, and gradually peels back the mask of respectability.

My main issue is the same issue I had with Glass Onion. The formula is a tad predictable. You can almost sense the beats arriving. The shape of the misdirection, the rhythm of the interviews, the way the film wants to play clever with perspective and revelation. I figured the spine of it out within the first hour, and while that doesn’t ruin the experience, it does take a bite out of the tension. A murder mystery should make you doubt yourself. This one makes you feel like you’re watching the mechanism.

There’s also a sense that the series is becoming a Netflix “stable” product, which is not inherently a bad thing, but it can encourage safety. The religious setting gives Wake Up Dead Man a new coat of paint, but it does not always feel like the story is taking the kind of narrative risk that would justify a third entry. It is more confident than daring, and those are not the same thing.

Daniel Craig is the anchor, and he has fully settled into Benoit Blanc now. The performance is relaxed, assured, and you can tell he is enjoying the role. Blanc feels less like a novelty character and more like a fixture of the genre, which is exactly what this franchise needs if it is going to keep going.

The ensemble is excellent across the board, but Josh Brolin is the standout. He revels in the chance to play an aggravating, controversial priest, and he brings a mix of arrogance and charisma that makes the character both appalling and fascinating. It is the kind of performance that keeps scenes alive even when you feel the plot moving into familiar territory. The tone also deserves praise. This is the darkest Knives Out film so far, and the shift works. It still has humour, it still has theatricality, but there’s a weight to the setting that gives the mystery a more serious edge without losing the series’ playful DNA.

Most importantly, it remains a welcome antidote to bloated franchise filmmaking. This is a film built around dialogue, performance, and the pleasure of watching intelligent characters manoeuvre for advantage. That alone is worth celebrating.

Wake Up Dead Man is a solid entry and a decent way to spend a couple of hours. Craig is fully at home as Blanc, the ensemble is sharp, and Brolin in particular is a wicked bit of casting. But the series is now at a point where the formula risks becoming too familiar for its own good. If there’s a fourth, and there will be, it needs to up the ante narratively, not just swap the setting.

3 / 5 ✨ from the Screen Scribe.

(All images and videos courtesy of and owned by Netflix and Youtube)