By Ian Chandler - November 27, 2025 Wake Up Dead Man is Rian Johnson's latest murder mystery in the Benoit Blanc franchise and, fortunately, the final installment produced under Netflix's oversight. Similar to Kenneth Branagh's third Poirot film, A Haunting in Venice, this third Blanc installment has a rich gothic atmosphere and religious themes. Like its predecessors, Wake Up Dead Man features an exemplary ensemble, including Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, and several other notable actors. This picture also has, in my view, the trickiest mystery of the trilogy. Despite the marvelous cast and improved suspense, this whodunit has one grave mistake: its unremarkable, stereotypical character writing. With its combination of sharp suspense and uneven characters, Wake Up Dead Man is simultaneously the Blanc series' finest and most flawed entry. Similar to the opening of Glass Onion, Wake Up Dead Man brims with awkwardly executed humor that leaves a weak first impression. For example, a priest admits to masturbating -- a conversation drags on long after the punchline. But once the unamusing gags are out of the way, the film begins to dig into its unusual homicide with greater focus. Once that casket is opened, it also introduces more subtle, effective humor. Blanc is not as delightfully goofy as he was in the previous two, but he still retains his charming, Southern personality. The tone is not as overbearingly quirky as Glass Onion, dialing back forced comedy in favor of a slightly darker approach. The film's most striking feature is its meticulously crafted setting. From the intricate, medieval structures to the gravestones recurring throughout, this Blanc adventure feels the most atmospheric. Though it is by no means as dark or as suffocating as A Haunting in Venice, its grave mood helps it differ from its two older siblings. However, the vibe is slightly downgraded by the fact that it was meant to be a Netflix movie. Its aspect ratio, camerawork, and editing are characteristic of typical Netflix productions. Even so, the set design and score overpower the streamlined post-production, helping preserve the film's unique character. Gratefully, the ghastly hands of Netflix will release the series from its grasp moving forward. With that, perhaps we will get the extra cinematic flourish that Knives Out enjoyed. The mystery, while still not as brilliant as some of Agatha Christie's best, is notably sharper than Glass Onion's -- and arguably even Knives Out. It is more complicated, sinister, and frankly, weird. The case also benefits from a much-improved pace, gradually uncovering twists and clues instead of the abrupt nature some whodunits fall for. I failed to guess the guilty party, something I cannot say about the first two Blanc mysteries. Without spoiling anything, it is enough to say that the mystery's structure has never been this sharp and biting. Wake Up Dead Man, though its mystery is alive and well, wears out on the character department. At least four of them barely utter ten lines throughout the entire film. A lot of them have limited personality, thanks to the film's embrace of unimaginative stereotypes. Catholicism is bizarre, cult-like, and flawed -- a great opportunity to create memorable suspects. But instead of properly exploring the characters' beliefs and perhaps uncovering more of the denomination's nature, the film delivers the same, shallow behavior and jokes you see across decades of filmmaking. While Blanc and a few other characters have enough substance to chew on, the rest are practically Post-it notes. Moreover, Wake Up Dead Man fails to explore thought-provoking themes of spirituality. Given the stark contrasts between Blanc's atheism and the suspects' Christianity, there was plenty of potential to provide great arguments. Well implemented commentary could have served as sprinkles on top of the movie's mysterious platter. What we get instead is a tired retread of the most amateur arguments from both sides. It goes overboard by simplifying atheism and Christianity, rendering both stances far frailer than they actually are. I do not recall any film in recent memory that handled these opposing beliefs so poorly. Where I would rank Johnson's newest movie is an enigma. It resolves a lot of issues I had with the otherwise solid Glass Onion, but it introduces new flaws that were not as apparent in the other Benoit Blanc cases. Its creepy environment adds a much-needed extra layer of flavor to the franchise. However, half of the characters are frankly nonexistent, and the others are stuck in outdated stereotypes. So, Wake Up Dead Man wastes its shot at being among the best whodunit pictures. The feature is simply a complicated, thoroughly written whodunit held under the clutches of lazy commentary on arguably the longest debate in human history. Score: 74/100 Summary (for quick reference): Sharp, sinister, and weird, Wake Up Dead Man moves the whodunit forward -- but some characters are afterthoughts and its religious themes go numb.

See other user reviews