Wake Up Dead Man review
By Joel Humphries · Watched 11.29.25
★★★★ 4 / 5
Spoiler-free review
Wake Up Dead Man deliberately abandons much of the playful Knives Out energy for a heavier, morally ugly world in which nearly everyone—from the suspects to the Catholic institution surrounding them—lands somewhere between compromised and awful. Benoit Blanc remains the anchor, but even his charm is subdued; the young priest is the only other character who inspired real warmth. The shift makes this the darkest and least family-friendly entry, despite its PG-13 rating. It is exceptionally well acted, carefully made and engaging throughout. I admired it more than I enjoyed it, which is a very different response from the joy these mysteries usually leave behind.
Full review — contains spoilers
I went into this expecting another round of the playful Knives Out energy we’ve had so far and that is not what this movie is doing. It is really well made and really well acted, but the tone is much heavier than I thought it would be. Easily the darkest of the series.
What surprised me most was how rough the world of this movie feels. Almost every character is morally awful in one way or another. The Catholic Church does not come out looking great here either, which, fine by me since I am not Catholic, but it is still a pretty harsh portrayal. The only people I felt any genuine warmth toward were Blanc and the young priest. Everyone else was on a sliding scale between shady and straight up unpleasant.
Even Blanc feels a little different this time. Still the anchor of the story, but the charm and lightness from the earlier films is toned way down. You can feel that shift in every scene. This one does not give you the same sense of fun as the first movie or even Glass Onion.
And despite the PG 13 rating, I was not comfortable watching this one with the kids in my family over the holidays. Other folks can make their own decisions, but it just doesn’t have the family friendly vibe the earlier movies managed to pull off even when dealing with murder.
All that said, I did think it was a very good movie. It kept me engaged the whole time, just not joyful the way I usually am after one of these.