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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery 2025

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) is the third installment in Rian Johnson’s acclaimed whodunit franchise, serving as a direct sequel to Glass Onion. The film marks a tonal shift for the series, leaning into a darker, "Gothic" atmosphere centered around themes of faith, redemption, and the corruption of religious institutions. Written and directed by Johnson, the movie continues the adventures of the eccentric Southern detective Benoit Blanc as he navigates a complex web of secrets in a small, insular community.The story is set in the fictional town of Chimney Rock, upstate New York, and is framed by a letter written to Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) by Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), a former boxer who joined the clergy after accidentally killing a man in the ring. Jud serves at a struggling church under the tyrannical Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). The mystery begins during a Good Friday service when Wicks is found stabbed to death in a storage closet in front of his entire congregation. The murder appears "impossible" because the closet was seemingly inaccessible to anyone during the service. Blanc arrives to find a community gripped by fear and religious fervor. The suspects include the devout church lady Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), the alcoholic town doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), a cynical science fiction author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), and a disabled cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny) who is donating her fortune in hopes of a miracle. The investigation takes a bizarre turn when Wicks seemingly "resurrects" and is seen walking into the forest, only for the groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church) to be found murdered shortly after. In the climax, Blanc reveals that the "miracle" was a calculated deception. Dr. Nat Sharp was the physical killer, acting as a pawn because he was being blackmailed. However, the true mastermind was Martha Delacroix. Martha had discovered that Wicks was planning to steal a legendary hidden fortune—a massive jewel left by his billionaire grandfather—and intended to frame Jud for his own "disappearance" to start a new life. Martha manipulated the events to create a narrative of divine justice and resurrection to preserve the church's mythos. In the end, Martha poisons herself to complete her "martyr" narrative, leaving Jud to take over the church, while Blanc recovers the hidden jewel, ensuring the truth is recorded even if the town chooses to believe the myth. Because the film is a Netflix original, its theatrical run was intentionally limited to qualify for awards and build prestige. It opened in approximately 600 theaters in the United States on November 26, 2025, specifically targeting the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. During this 5-day limited window, it earned an estimated $2.5 million, a lower figure than its predecessors due to the significantly smaller theater count and lack of support from major chains like AMC.Globally, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 6, 2025, where it was the 2nd runner-up for the People's Choice Award. It began streaming worldwide on Netflix on December 12, 2025, where it became an instant global hit, reaching the #1 spot in over 90 countries within its first 48 hours. Read More

• 2025
• 2 h : 24 min
• 1.8k views
• 7.284
• PG-13