Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is the latest from Rian Johnson, and one of many 2025 Netflix movies readers should make time for. The feature came out not long after the sequel to the original movie, Glass Onion, which I admittedly thought was odd, but it all makes a lot more sense after hearing why the director made that decision.
Except for a handful of episodes of the now-canceled Peacock series Poker Face, Johnson has been exclusively working on the Knives Out franchise since 2019. This has led to three movies in a much shorter time than most franchises, though the director told EW he had a good reason for rushing to do the third after the first sequel:
I was really proud of Glass Onion. But part of the reason why I wanted to make the third one right away is that I didn’t want audiences to settle into an idea that the trajectory from Knives Out to Glass Onion meant it was just gonna be a big, glamorous destination each time, or that things were gonna get bigger and broader.
I can understand that, especially after hearing some people say the Thailand location for Season 3 of The White Lotus wasn’t quite as posh as previous resorts. Fortunately, the favorable reviews on Wake Up Dead Man, both from CinemaBlend and critics at large, prove that bigger doesn’t always mean better.
Instead of a movie centered on a billionaire and their grand estate, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery centers on two priests, a congregation, and the Catholic faith. Rian Johnson talked about what drew him to that idea specifically, and how it connected to his own life:
I thought, ‘Okay, with the third one, I want to ground it. I wanted to kind of bring it back down to Earth.’ And to me, the way into that, and the ultimate challenge for that was: Can I take the most personal, tangled thing in my life and use a big Benoit Blanc mystery — not as a cover for that thing, but use the movie to engage with that thing? And that, for me, is the idea of faith.
As for other changes Wake Up Dead Man made, we’ve noted that the movie waits a while before introducing Benoit Blanc into the story. In doing so, it basically makes Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud the main character for most of the story and allows the adventure itself to breathe.
I’ve heard some fans complain that the movie was a little less campy than usual and that the killer reveal was a little too obvious. Personally, I didn’t see that as a problem and would say this was by far the best movie he’s done. The bar may not have been raised in terms of spectacle, but I would say I’ll have higher expectations for the fourth movie.
As for how this could influence Rian Johnson and the next idea he has for the Knives Out franchise, that’s up in the air. The director said he only had a vague idea for what to do with the fourth movie for now, noting that he doesn’t like to get too specific with the story until he actually prepares to write it. So it can better reflect more current times.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is available to stream with a Netflix subscription right now. Those who haven’t had a chance to watch yet should do so immediately and get ready for a new year packed with more quality movies from the streamer.