Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (M) – 140 minutes

A former pugilistic, cum man of the cloth, witnesses some unholy goings on when sent to be 2IC at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude.

That’s a fictional parish in the fictional town of Chimney Rock, New York.

It is Father Jud Duplenticy’s (Josh O’Connor) last chance, after having to front a tribunal of religious leaders for using his fists on a deacon.

When he arrives, he is hardly embraced by Monsignor Jeffersen Wicks (Josh Brolin) or the parishioners, who are fiercely loyal to Monsignor Wicks.

With his fire and brimstone sermons, Monsignor Wicks is first and foremost a narcissist and immediately tests Father Duplenticy.

And when Father Duplenticy tries to use his initiative, that goes down badly.

Soon thereafter, Monsignor Wicks meets his maker during a service and suspicion immediately falls on Father Duplenticy.

The truth is any one of the church regulars could also have been involved.

I speak of devout church goer, administrator and Wicks’ regular attendant Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close) or disgruntled doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner).

That’s not to dismiss tightly wound lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) or her failed, wannabe politician stepbrother Cy (Daryl McCormack).

Then there is struggling, best-selling author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott) and pained and disabled cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny)

Finally, the circumspect groundskeeper is Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church).

Leading the investigation is local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis), who calls in famed private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig).

The only certainty is that this will not be an easy case to solve.

The third film in the series created, written and directed by Rian Johnson is another beauty, with complexity to it, which has even Blanc scratching his head, at times.

He has assembled an all-star cast, with Josh O’Connor doing much of the heavy lifting and bringing an engaging personality to it.

I was drawn in, fully expecting a surfeit of twists and turn, which there are.

With that southern drawl, Daniel Craig in large measure maintains that supercilious air that characterised him in the role previously.

Josh Brolin brings heft to bear, throwing his weight around, as his part requires.

There is a mysterious edge to Glenn Close’s portrayal of the church everybody, while Mila Kunis largely plays it straight as the police chief.

I appreciated the devil imagery inherent in the plotting, as well as the darkly comedic elements.

There is a level of sophistication about the set up and structure of these whodunits, which continues to impress.

Rated M, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery scores an 8 out of 10.

It can be seen at select cinemas now and on Netflix from 12^th December, 2025.