Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery delivers another twist-filled story in Rian Johnson’s popular franchise. Daniel Craig returns as detective Benoit Blanc, this time investigating a murder inside a troubled Catholic church.
The film features a star-studded cast, including Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny, Mila Kunis, Andrew Scott, Thomas Haden Church, and Daryl McCormack.
The mystery begins when Reverend Jud Duplenticy, played by Josh O’Connor, arrives at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. The church is led by the strict Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, played by Josh Brolin, who hides his own motives. During a service, Wicks enters a small closet behind the pulpit and collapses with a stab wound, seemingly killed in an “impossible” murder. Benoit Blanc is brought in shortly after to untangle the web of secrets surrounding the church members.
The investigation reveals Wicks had been recording everyone, planning to expose their secrets and leave the church. A hidden family fortune also comes into play—a rare jewel swallowed by Wicks’ grandfather, Reverend Prentice Wicks.
It is revealed that Wicks’ flask contains a paralytic, but the fatal stab is delivered by dentist Nat Sharp using a real knife disguised as a fake one. Later, when Wicks appears to “rise from the dead,” it is actually Samson Holt in disguise. Nat kills Samson, aiming to claim the jewel.
Martha Delacroix, Wicks’ loyal aide, discovers Nat’s plan. She switches their coffee cups, causing Nat to poison himself. She stages the scene to make it look like Jefferson drowned Nat in acid. Martha confesses the truth to Jud, with Blanc listening, and admits she poisoned herself to protect the jewel.
By the end, the investigation uncovers how Wicks manipulated his congregation for years. Each church member faces personal guilt, resentment, or hidden truths, including Vera Draven learning that Cy is Wicks’ illegitimate son.
Martha dies holding the jewel, and Jud decides to keep it hidden to prevent further chaos. He renames the church Our Lady of Perpetual Grace, in honor of Jefferson’s mother, Grace Wicks, and hides the jewel inside a wooden figure of Jesus above the altar, hoping to bring peace to the parish.
