Knock on Wood

The Knives Out films have followed my development as a young adult, appearing at critical junctures of my life. The original, released in 2019, was part of a distinct dividing period concerning the person I was before the pandemic and the person I became afterward; I convinced my family to drive an hour and a half to see Glass Onion in theaters over the Thanksgiving holidays in 2022, less than a month after I met my life partner; and the latest, Wake Up Dead Man, is arriving at a point when I am lucky enough to be living in Los Angeles, very tangibly pursuing my career goals. There is no other franchise (though I shudder to use that word to describe the Knives Out series, seeing as the only interconnection is the genre and Daniel Craig’s recurring sleuth) that has so pointedly appeared at these key moments in my life, and that’s just one of the reasons why any new entry will always be among my most anticipated of that year.

It helps that writer/director Rian Johnson has a clear affinity for these mysteries – in the live Q&A following my screening, Johnson spoke about how he has streamlined his creative development over the years, but the majority of the process (about 80%, he says) lies in the formation of character, what part they will play in the mystery, and how the puzzle pieces fit together. His dedication to making sure everything has a place and a purpose holds these movies to a much higher quality than we’re used to from streaming thrillers in the modern age.

Wake Up Dead Man is the latest standalone Benoit Blanc mystery. It takes place in the fictional New York township of Chimney Rock, where young priest Jud Duplenticy (Challengers star Josh O’Connor) starts work at a new parish under the tyrannical control of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Weapons star Josh Brolin). In his new home, Jud finds a small, bizarrely devoted congregation of devotees to Wicks’s violent gospel, and a shocking, impossible murder only increases the latent tensions.

While the series belongs to Daniel Craig and his slick, smart-mouthed detective, Wake Up Dead Man is Josh O’Connor’s movie. His performance is genuine and sweet, and his unfailing earnestness makes for a fascinating protagonist at a crucial crossroads in his life. He’s a man with a violent past who is doing his best to atone through his faith, and to put that character in the center of a puzzle surrounded by vicious backstabbers and catty double-talkers makes for any number of infinitely interesting dynamics. Thankfully, Johnson’s script is once again razor-sharp and is more than up to the task of servicing these characters properly, delivering hysterical witticisms and thought-provoking adages alike.

But O’Connor is just the center of this story, and it wouldn’t be a Knives Out mystery without a well-rounded ensemble. The film co-stars Glenn Close (The Big Chill), who is marvelous fun to watch whenever she is on-screen; Mila Kunis (That ’70s Show), a steady, reliable, and calm presence; Jeremy Renner (Avengers), an entertaining ball of nervous energy; Kerry Washington (Scandal), a stalwart but sneaky wrench in the mix; Andrew Scott (Fleabag) as a delusional fantasy author, who gets some of the film’s best laugh lines; Cailee Spaeny (Alien: Romulus), whose youthful, pained verve is engaging as hell; Daryl McCormack (Peaky Blinders), who encapsulates everything wrong with the American youth of today; Thomas Haden Church (Spider-Man) as another warm but suspicious figure; and Jeffrey Wright (Westworld), among many others. I don’t know if much will top the organized chaotic energy of the first film, but Wake Up Dead Man’s group certainly tries their best.

As you might expect, Wake Up Dead Man is a film about faith, and it’s one that can only be told by someone with a deep religious background. Johnson himself admitted to being very devout for the first decades of his life, and though his films have touched on the subject before, Wake Up Dead Man is the ultimate coldwater plunge – a raw examination of tough ideas, woven together with the brutal and contradictory rhetoric of our time. It brings a whole new dimension to the concept of violence as a solution, because that doesn’t just mean it in the physical sense – now more than ever, it’s just as easy, if not easier, to harm others with words and actions from a distance.

I’ve never been the type to actively attempt to solve the mystery mid-movie, but Wake Up Dead Man very effectively clues you in, offering different explanations to each new wrinkle (many of which could very easily be the ultimate solution), all before pulling the wool over your eyes in a way that makes you sigh with relief and kick your feet in delight (maybe that was just my experience). In other words, it’s an incredibly successful mystery thriller.

I’ll join the masses in saying I would be perfectly excited if Rian Johnson made a new Knives Out movie every few years for as long as he wants to. Their episodic nature ensures that no homework is necessary, and they’ve been incredibly reliable feats of entertainment so far. Wake Up Dead Man is standard fare, but that standard is very high – luckily, Johnson continues to deliver. It’s the franchise mission in its purest form – a twisty mystery, compelling characters, and a dramatically satisfying, subversive conclusion. What more could you ask for?

Wake Up Dead Man opens in select theaters on November 26 and will debut on Netflix on December 12.