Film: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery [2025] on Netflix

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is a middling Benoit Blanc mystery, but that’s still better than most mysteries.

Daniel Craig is back and detective Benoit Blanc. And this time, he’s joined by a great cast that is severely underutilized. While the trailer presents a team, the actual movie focuses on Josh O’Connor in addition to
two or three other characters.

Don’t get me wrong. O’Connor is great and he delivers a great performance. But why would you cast Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, and Jeffrey Wright to give all of them, combined, a screentime shorter than 20 minutes, with Scott barely have 3 sentences? How’s that good writing?

The mystery is better than Glass Onion’s and plays on the religion stories. Wake Up Dead Man is a darker, more serious Knives Out that aims high but lands unevenly. But watching the movie on Christmas day, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it’s a bit too over extended.

Yes, it eventually tied up all the loose ends, but strong performances, especially Josh O’Connor, can’t fully save an overlong mystery that promises depth on faith and power but settles for clever distraction.

Should you watch it?

While the first movie is still the best, Wake Up Dead Man delivers a more interesting plot, and movie, compared to Glass Onion. Fun, but also nothing too special.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix everywhere.